English
contention
Contention comes from Latin contendō ‘to stretch, draw tight, make taut, strain’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *téndeti.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*téndetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tendō‘to stretch’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtendō‘stretch, extend’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontendō‘to stretch, draw tight, make taut, strain’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontentio
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400contencion
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1978contention
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*téndetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tendō‘to stretch’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtendō‘stretch, extend’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontendō‘to stretch, draw tight, make taut, strain’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontentio
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400contencion
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1978contention
Earliest quotation: 1978, 1976, Leszek Kołakowski: “The multiplicity of moral opinions is an empirical fact…”
Formed from contend + -tion
Proto-Indo-European *téndeti
…
Latin tendō ‘to stretch’
Latin contendere ‘to stretch out, extend, strive after, contend’
Old French contendre
Middle English contenden
English contend
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *tendō ‘to stretch’
pretend, extend, attendance, tender, intend, hypertension, intentional, pretense, hypotension, entendre, portend, pretension, inattention, 28 more
through Latin tendō ‘stretch, extend’
extensive, attention, tend, extent, extension, tense, tension, intention, tempt, tensor, tensile, extensible, entente, portent, détente, detent, 43 more
Today it means
noun Argument, contest, debate, strife, struggle.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *téndeti / contention