Where does “tenter” come from?

tenter (Middle French) comes from Old French tempter, from Latin temptō, from Latin tendō, from Ancient Greek τένων, from Proto-Indo-European ten- — to stretch, to extend.

Ancestry of “tenter”, step by step

tenter traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Old French tempter

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchtempterto tempt; to act as a temptation
2Latintemptōto test the strength; to make an attack upon
3Latintendōto stretch, stretch out, distend, extend
4Ancient Greekτένωνtendon, sinew
5Proto-Indo-Europeanten-to stretch, to extend

via Old French [[tempter]], [[tenter]]

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old French[[tempter]], [[tenter]]—
2Latin[[temptare]], [[tentare]]—

via Latin tentāre

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latintentāre—

Words derived from “tenter”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ten- →Every word from Ancient Greek τένων →Every word from Latin tendō →
tenter — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer