Etymograph

English

intend

Intend comes from Latin intendo ‘to stretch out’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *téndeti.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*téndetireconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tendō‘to stretch’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtendō
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEintendoas intendō‘to stretch out’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400entendre
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500intenden
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1897intend

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*téndetireconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tendō‘to stretch’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtendō
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEintendoas intendō‘to stretch out’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400entendre
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500intenden
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1897intend

Earliest quotation: 1897, Winston Churchill: “The stories did not seem to me to touch…”

The story

Largely displaced native Old English myntan (‘to mean, intend; to think, suppose’), whence dialectal mint.

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *tendō ‘to stretch’

hypertension, pretense, hypotension, pretension, inattention, 30 more

through Latin tendō

attention, extensive, extension, tension, extent, pretend, attendance, extend, tense, tender, contention, tempt, contend, tensor, tensile, extensible, portent, détente, portend, detent, 37 more

through Latin intendo ‘to stretch out’

entente, 6 more

through Old French entendre

entendre, 1 more

Today it means

verb To fix the mind upon (something, or something to be accomplished); be intent upon

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *téndeti / intend

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