Where does “tenderfooted” come from?

tenderfooted (English) comes from English tender, from English tend, from Middle English tenden, from Middle English attenden, from Old French atendre, from Latin attendō, from Latin ad-, from Latin īn- — in.

tenderfooted (English): Having tender feet that easily become sore

Definitions

  1. Having tender feet that easily become sore

Ancestry of “tenderfooted”, step by step

tenderfooted traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English tender

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtenderSensitive or painful to the touch; Easily bruised...
2EnglishtendTo make a tender of; to offer or tender; To be...
3Middle EnglishtendenTo ignite; to light or set on fire
4Middle Englishattendento attend
5Old Frenchatendreto wait
6Latinattendōto pay attention, attend (to), direct the attention towards
7Latinad-to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it...
8Latinīn-un-, non-, not
9Latinînin, at, on, upon, from (space)
10Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
11Proto-Italicenin
12Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

via English footed

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishfootedsimple past tense and past participle of foot;...
2Middle EnglishfotedHaving a type or number of feet; footed;...
3Middle Englishfotfoot; The bottom, lower part or foundation of...
4Old Englishfōtfoot
5Proto-West Germanicfōtfoot
6Proto-Germanicfōtsfoot
7Proto-Indo-Europeanpṓdsfoot
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpódsfoot
9Proto-Indo-Europeanped-to walk, to step; to stumble, to fall
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én