Where does “tenant” come from?
tenant (Old French) comes from Latin tenens, from Latin teneō, from Proto-Italic tenēō, from Proto-Indo-European ten- — to stretch, to extend.
tenant (Old French): holder
Definitions
- holder
Ancestry of “tenant”, step by step
tenant traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Latin tenens
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | tenens | holding, having; restraining; knowing, grasping,... |
| 2 | Latin | teneō | to hold, have; to grasp |
| 3 | Proto-Italic | tenēō | to hold |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | ten- | to stretch, to extend |
via Old French tenir
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | tenir | to possess; to have; to hold |