Where does “tenable” come from?

Tenable comes from French tenable, derived from French tenir meaning to hold, traced through Middle French tenir and Old French tenir to Latin tenere and teneo, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ten-.

tenable (English): capable of being maintained or justified;...

Definitions

  1. capable of being maintained or justified;...

Ancestry of “tenable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchtenabletenable
2Frenchtenirto have; to hold
3Middle Frenchtenirto hold
4Old Frenchtenirto possess; to have; to hold
5Latinteneōto hold, have; to grasp
6Proto-Italictenēōto hold
7Proto-Indo-Europeanten-to stretch, to extend

Words derived from “tenable”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ten- →Every word from Proto-Italic tenēō →Every word from Latin teneō →