Where does “intense” come from?
Intense comes from Middle French intense, from Latin intensus, the past participle of intendere meaning to stretch or strain, from in- and tendere.
intense (English): Strained; tightly drawn; Strict, very close or...
Definitions
- Strained; tightly drawn; Strict, very close or...
Ancestry of “intense”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | intens | — |
| 2 | Old French | intense | — |
| 3 | Latin | intēnsus | intent, eager |
| 4 | Latin | intendō | to stretch out; to strain |
| 5 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 6 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 7 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |
Words derived from “intense”