Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “attentive” come from?

attentive (French) comes from French attentif, from Old French attentif, from Latin attentus, from Latin attineo, from Latin ad-, from Latin īn-, from Latin în, from Latin en — in.

attentive (French): feminine singular of attentif

Definitions

  1. feminine singular of attentif

Ancestry of “attentive”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchattentifattentive; careful
2Old Frenchattentif—
3Latinattentusdetained, delayed; preserved, guarded; attentive,...
4LatinattineoI bring or hold to or near; I hold fast, keep,...
5Latinad-to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it...
6Latinīn-—
7Latinîn—
8Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
9Proto-Italicenin
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →