French word tenir comes from Proto-Indo-European *tengʰ-, and later Proto-Indo-European *tetóne (To be stretched, extended.)
| Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| *tengʰ- | Proto-Indo-European (ine) | |
| tener | Latin (lat) | (poetic) erotic. Effeminate, sensitive. Soft, delicate, tender. Young, youthful. |
| *tetóne | Proto-Indo-European (ine) | To be stretched, extended. |
| *tenēō | Proto-Italic (itc-pro) | Hold. |
| teneo | Latin (lat) | (of laws) I am binding on; bind, hold, obligate. (reflexive) I keep back, remain, stay, hold position. I comprise, contain, include, hold. I hold fast, restrain, detain, check, control; bind, fetter. I hold, have; grasp. I insist, uphold. I know, grasp, understand, conceive. I possess, occupy, control. I reach, attain; gain, acquire, obtain. I recollect, retain knowledge of, remember, bear [...] |
| *tenīre | Vulgar Latin (la-vul) | |
| *tenio | Latin (lat) | (Vulgar Latin, Gallo-Romance) I have, possess.. (Vulgar Latin, Gallo-Romance) I hold. |
| tenir | Old French (fro) | To hold. To possess; to have. |
| tenir | Middle French (frm) | To hold. |
| tenir | French (fr) | (followed by the preposition à) to be attached to something, to be fond of something, to hold something dear. (intransitive) to stay; to hold. (reflexive) to behave. (reflexive) to hold oneself, to be standing. (reflexive) to maintain, remain in a certain position or disposition. (reflexive, Quebec, slang) to hang out. (reflexive, uncommon) to hold on. (transitive) to have; to hold. [...] |