Where does “tennis” come from?

Tennis derives from Old French tenez, the imperative form of Old French tenir, from Latin tenere, meaning to hold or grasp, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ten-.

tennis (English): A sport played by two players (or four in doubles), who alternately strike the ball over a net using racquets

Definitions

  1. A sport played by two players (or four in doubles), who alternately strike the ball over a net using racquets

Ancestry of “tennis”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchtenezsecond-person plural present indicative of tenir;...
2Old Frenchtenirto possess; to have; to hold
3Latinteneōto hold, have; to grasp
4Proto-Italictenēōto hold
5Proto-Indo-Europeanten-to stretch, to extend

Words derived from “tennis”

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