Where does “tempting” come from?

Tempting comes from Middle English tempten, from Old French tempter, from Latin tempto, ultimately from Latin teneo meaning to hold.

tempting (English): Attractive, appealing, enticing; Seductive,...

Definitions

  1. Attractive, appealing, enticing; Seductive,...

Ancestry of “tempting”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtemptTo provoke someone to do wrong, especially by...
2Middle Englishtemptento tempt
3Old Frenchtempterto tempt; to act as a temptation
4Latintemptōto test the strength; to make an attack upon
5Latintendōto stretch, stretch out, distend, extend
6Ancient Greekτένωνtendon, sinew
7Proto-Indo-Europeanten-to stretch, to extend

Words derived from “tempting”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ten- →Every word from Ancient Greek τένων →Every word from Latin tendō →