English
tendency
Tendency comes from Medieval Latin tendentia ‘the act of leaning toward’, and goes back to tendens ‘extending’.
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500tendens‘extending’
- Medieval Latin, derivedc. 600–1500tendentia‘the act of leaning toward’
- Englishearliest quotation 1951tendency
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500tendens‘extending’
- Medieval Latin, derivedc. 600–1500tendentia‘the act of leaning toward’
- Englishearliest quotation 1951tendency
Earliest quotation: 1951, Stirling Everard, A Matter of Pedigree: “In some details, Britannia shows the trend towards American…”
Every English word from Medieval Latin tendens
Today it means
noun A likelihood of behaving in a particular way or going in a particular direction; a tending toward.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Medieval Latin tendens / tendency