Where does “attention” come from?
Attention comes from Middle English attencioun, from Latin attentio (a stretching toward), derived from Latin attendere (to attend), combining Latin ad- (toward) with Latin tenēo (to hold).
attention (English): Mental focus; An action or remark expressing...
Definitions
- Mental focus; An action or remark expressing...
Ancestry of “attention”, step by step
attention traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English attencioun
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | attencioun | — |
| 2 | Latin | attentio | attention, attentiveness |
| 3 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 4 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 5 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 6 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 7 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 8 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 9 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |