Where does “tenacious” come from?

Tenacious comes from Latin tenax, meaning holding or grasping, derived from Latin teneo, to hold, which traces to Proto-Indo-European ten-, to stretch or hold.

tenacious (English): Clinging to an object or surface; adhesive;...

Definitions

  1. Clinging to an object or surface; adhesive;...

Ancestry of “tenacious”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latintenāxclinging
2Latin-āxish, -y
3Latin-iumSuffix used to form abstract nouns, sometimes...
4Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
5Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
6Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems

Words derived from “tenacious

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós