Tend
Tend is a word all by
itself. It means to bestow attention, to have a purpose, or to advance. It is
based on the Latin word tendere, to
stretch. That verb also contained the senses to strain or to strive.
Worth noting is that –tend
was frequently used as a word part in combination with various prefixes. Some
of the words in the following list are now obsolete, but they demonstrate the
usefulness of this word part through the centuries.
·
attend: To watch over something. [L. ad-, towards, + tendere, to stretch]
·
bartend: To
serve drinks in a bar.[OF. barre,
rigid piece of wood, + L. tendere, to
stretch]
·
circumtend: To
stretch around something.[L. circum-,
around, + tendere, to stretch]
·
contend: To
strive earnestly. [L. con-, with, + tendere, to stretch]
·
detend: To
reduce the tension or the intensity of something. [L. de-, undo, + tendere, to
stretch]
·
distend: To
swell out. [L. dis-, away and out, + tendere, to stretch]
·
extend: To expand or prolong. [L. ex-,
out, + tendere, to stretch]
·
intend: To have a purpose. [L. in-, onward continuance, + tendere,
to stretch]
·
mistend: To
fail to give proper attention to something.
[L. mis-, badly, + tendere, to stretch]
·
obtend: To proffer or put forward. [L. ob-,
in front of, + tendere, to stretch]
·
ostend: To indicate directly. [L. ob-,
in front of, + tendere, to stretch]
·
portend: To forecast or give warning. [L. por-, forward, + tendere, to stretch]
·
pretend: To feign.
[L. pre-, before, + tendere, to stretch]
·
retend: To
return. [L. re-, again, + tendere, to
stretch]
·
subtend: To
form an angle; to underlie. [L. sub-,
under, + tendere, to stretch]
·
tend: To
bestow attention; to have a purpose; to advance. [L. tendere,
to stretch]
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