Etymology

pretension

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Today it means: A claim or aspiration to a particular status or quality. Full definition →

Middle English pretencioun ← Medieval Latin prētēnsiō
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pretension · noun1

  1. Medieval Latin · derived fromprētēnsiō
  2. Middle English · inherited frompretencioun
  3. English todaypretension

From Middle English pretencioun, pretensioun, from Medieval Latin prētēnsiō.

pretension · verb2

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*préh₂i?
  4. Proto-Italic*prai
  5. Proto-Italic*prai-
  6. Latinprae-
  7. Middle Englishpre-
  8. Englishpre-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*ten-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*tend-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*téndeti
  12. Proto-Italic*tendō
  13. Latintendō
  14. Latintēnsiō
  15. Middle Frenchtension
  16. Englishtension
  17. English todaypretension

From pre- + tension.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.