Where does “tentative” come from?
Tentative comes from French tentatif, derived from Latin tentativus, the adjective form of tentāre meaning "to try or test," ultimately from Latin tenēre meaning "to hold."
tentative (English): A trial; an experiment; an attempt; Of or...
Definitions
- A trial; an experiment; an attempt; Of or...
Ancestry of “tentative”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | tentativus | trying, testing |
| 2 | Latin | -īvus | Adjective suffix |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | -iHwós | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | -wós | Creates adjectives from verb stems |