Where does “Tennis” come from?
Tennis (German) comes from English tennis, from Old French tenez, from Old French tenir, from Latin teneō, from Proto-Italic tenēō, from Proto-Indo-European ten- — to stretch, to extend.
Tennis (German): tennis
Ancestry of “Tennis”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | tennis | A sport played by two players , who alternately... |
| 2 | Old French | tenez | second-person plural present indicative of tenir;... |
| 3 | Old French | tenir | to possess; to have; to hold |
| 4 | Latin | teneō | — |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | tenēō | to hold |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ten- | to stretch, to extend |
Words derived from “Tennis”