appertain

English

Etymology

Old English apperteinen, apertenen, Old French apartenir (French appartenir), from Latin appertinere, from ad (“to”) + pertinere (“to reach to, belong”). See pertain for details.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA: /æp.ɚˈten/
• Rhymes: -eɪn

Verb

appertain (third-person singular simple present appertains, present participle appertaining, simple past and past participle appertained)

1. To belong to or be a part of, whether by right, nature, appointment, or custom; to relate to.
   • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in A Study in Scarlet

     In this great stretch of country
     there is no sign of life, nor of anything appertaining to
     life. There is no bird in the steel-blue heaven, no movement
     upon the dull, grey earth — above all, there is absolute
     silence. Listen as one may, there is no shadow of a sound in
     all that mighty wilderness; nothing but silence — complete
     and heart-subduing silence.

Usage notes

• Appertain is followed by to (or formerly by unto, as in The King James Version of The Bible and in the plays of Shakespeare, although to is used in these works as well).

Related terms

• appurtenance

Synonyms

• pertain

Antonyms

• be irrelevant

Translations

To belong to or be a part of, whether by right, nature, appointment, or custom; to relate to

Bulgarian: принадлежа, отнасям се към French: appartenir (fr)

Russian: принадлежать (ru), относиться (ru)