English
tenacity
Tenacity comes from Latin tenāx ‘tenacious’, from teneō ‘to hold, have’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch, extend’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-‘to stretch, extend’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*tn̥eh₁yétireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tenēō‘to hold’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEteneō‘to hold, have’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtenāx‘tenacious’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtenācitās
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600ténacité
- Englishearliest quotation 1869tenacity
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-‘to stretch, extend’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*tn̥eh₁yétireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tenēō‘to hold’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEteneō‘to hold, have’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtenāx‘tenacious’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtenācitās
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600ténacité
- Englishearliest quotation 1869tenacity
Earliest quotation: 1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago: “Like the Cuscus of the Moluccas, the Galeopithecus feeds…”
Formed from -acity
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch, extend’
tight, tone, obtain, entertainment, ton, tune, maintenance, tender, tonic, pristine, pertinent, tendon, tetanus, tantra, countenance, maintainer, tendinitis, retentive, hypotenuse, 64 more
through Proto-Italic *tenēō ‘to hold’
container, incontinent, 19 more
through Latin teneō ‘to hold, have’
continue, content, contain, continuous, retain, tennis, sustain, continent, detention, retention, continuum, rein, detain, tenant, abstain, abstinence, tenor, pertain, incontinence, retinue, tenet, sustenance, tenement, abstention, continence, abstinent, tenable, 21 more
Today it means
noun The quality or state of being tenacious, or persistence of purpose; tenaciousness.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ten- / tenacity