tend

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See also: 'tend, тенд, and тэнд

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /tɛnd/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛnd

Etymology 1

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From Middle English *tenden, from Old French tendre (to stretch, stretch out, hold forth, offer, tender), from Latin tendere (to stretch, stretch out, extend, spread out).

Verb

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tend (third-person singular simple present tends, present participle tending, simple past and past participle tended)

  1. (law, Old English law) To make a tender of; to offer or tender.
  2. (followed by a to-infinitive) To be likely, or probable to do something, or to have a certain habit or leaning. [from mid-14th c.]
    They tend to go out on Saturdays.
    It tends to snow here in winter.
  3. (intransitive) To contribute to or toward some outcome.
    • 1812, William Cobbett, The Parliamentary History of England:
      The Lords in 1722 declared that annexing such Clauses tends to the destruction of this government. And yet there are such bills every session and you pass them.
Usage notes
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Derived terms
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Translations
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See also

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Etymology 2

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From Middle English tenden, by apheresis of attenden (to attend). More at attend.

Alternative forms

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Verb

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tend (third-person singular simple present tends, present participle tending, simple past and past participle tended)

  1. (with to) To look after (e.g. an ill person.) [from early 14th c.]
    We need to tend to the garden, which has become a mess.
  2. To accompany as an assistant or protector; to care for the wants of; to look after; to watch; to guard.
    Shepherds tend their flocks.
  3. To wait (upon), as attendants or servants; to serve; to attend.
  4. (obsolete) To await; to expect.
  5. (obsolete) To be attentive to; to note carefully; to attend to.
  6. (transitive, nautical) To manage (an anchored vessel) when the tide turns, to prevent it from entangling the cable when swinging.
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 3

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From Middle English tenden, from Old English tendan (to kindle, set on fire) (usually in compounds ātendan, fortendan, ontendan), from Proto-Germanic *tandijaną (to kindle), of unknown origin. Cognate with Danish tænde (to kindle), Swedish tända (to ignite), Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (tandjan, to kindle), Icelandic tendra (to ignite), German zünden (to light, ignite, fire). Related to tinder.

Alternative forms

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Verb

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tend (third-person singular simple present tends, present participle tending, simple past and past participle tended)

  1. (transitive, now chiefly dialectal) To kindle; ignite; set on fire; light; inflame; burn.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Albanian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Proto-Albanian *tend-, from Proto-Indo-European *ten-d- (to distend; draw, stretch (out)). Cognate to Latin tendo (to stretch (out), strain). Present dendë with assimilation of the anlaut.[1]

Verb

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tend (aorist denda, participle dendë)

  1. to stuff, cram, to compress
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References

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  1. ^ Demiraj, B. (1997) Albanische Etymologien: Untersuchungen zum albanischen Erbwortschatz [Albanian Etymologies: []] (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 7)‎[1] (in German), Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi, page 129

French

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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tend

  1. third-person singular present indicative of tendre

Anagrams

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Middle English

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Noun

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tend

  1. Alternative form of tenthe