Where does “tenuous” come from?
Tenuous derives from Latin tenuous, meaning thin or stretched, formed from the Proto-Indo-European root ten- meaning to stretch, via Proto-Italic -owonssos and Latin -osus.
tenuous (English): Thin in substance or consistency; Insubstantial
Definitions
- Thin in substance or consistency; Insubstantial
Ancestry of “tenuous”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | tenuitas | thinness, fineness; poverty; frugality |
| 2 | Latin | tenuis | thin, fine, slender; weak, watery; slight,... |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | ténh₂us | thin |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | tenh₂- | to stretch, to extend |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ten- | to stretch, to extend |
Words derived from “tenuous”