English
pertinent
Pertinent comes from Old French pertinent, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch, extend’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-‘to stretch, extend’root as named · steps between not traced
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400pertinent
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1992same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-‘to stretch, extend’root as named · steps between not traced
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400pertinent
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1992same form
Earliest quotation: 1992, Rudolf Mathias Schuster, Chicago: “Fourthly, I have made an effort to call the…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch, extend’
content, continue, tight, ton, tone, obtain, tennis, contain, maintenance, tune, retain, entertainment, continuous, sustain, tender, detention, tenant, tonic, retention, continent, tenor, rein, tendon, detain, continuum, tenacity, abstain, tenacious, tetanus, pristine, sustenance, countenance, abstinence, tenet, tantra, tenement, retinue, tenable, incontinence, pertain, 72 more
Today it means
noun A right that attaches to land, in Scots law.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ten- / pertinent