Where does “tenderloin” come from?
Tenderloin derives from English tender and English loin, with tender ultimately tracing through Latin tendere, meaning to stretch or extend.
tenderloin (English): The tenderest part of a loin of meat, especially...
Definitions
- The tenderest part of a loin of meat, especially...
Ancestry of “tenderloin”, step by step
tenderloin traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English tender
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | tender | Sensitive or painful to the touch; Easily bruised... |
| 2 | English | tend | To make a tender of; to offer or tender; To be... |
| 3 | Middle English | tenden | To ignite; to light or set on fire |
| 4 | Middle English | attenden | to attend |
| 5 | Old French | atendre | to wait |
| 6 | Latin | attendō | to pay attention, attend (to), direct the attention towards |
| 7 | Latin | ad- | to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it... |
| 8 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 9 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 10 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 11 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |
via English loin
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | loin | The part of the body at each side of the... |
| 2 | Middle English | loyne | The loins or their muscles |
| 3 | Old French | loigne | — |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | *lumbea | — |
| 5 | Latin | lumbus | loin; lumbar; genitals |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | lonðwos | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | lendʰwos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | lendʰ- | land, heath; loins |