English
entendre
Entendre comes from French entendre ‘to understand, to mean’, from Middle French entendre ‘to hear’, and ultimately from 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
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEintendōas intendere‘to turn one’s attention, to strain’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400entendre‘to hear’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form‘to hear’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘to understand, to mean’
- Englishearliest quotation 1970same form
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
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEintendōas intendere‘to turn one’s attention, to strain’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400entendre‘to hear’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form‘to hear’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘to understand, to mean’
- Englishearliest quotation 1970same form
Earliest quotation: 1970, Eugene Wildman, Montezuma’s Ball: “Like Lon Chaney, this mind’s mummy lives—but beneath how…”
The story
Extracted from double entendre, corresponding to French entendre (‘to understand, to mean’); doublet of intend.
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *tendō ‘to stretch’
attendance, extend, pretend, tender, hypertension, contend, pretense, hypotension, inattention, pretension, portend, 28 more
through Latin tendō
attention, extensive, extension, tension, extent, tend, tense, intentional, contention, tempt, tensor, tensile, extensible, portent, détente, detent, 41 more
through Latin intendō ‘to turn one’s attention, to strain’
through Old French entendre ‘to hear’
Today it means
noun A meaning, especially one that is implied rather than explicitly stated.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *téndeti / entendre