Etymology

tense

T1E1N1S1E1

Today it means: The property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists. Full definition →

Middle English tens ← Old French tens ← Latin tempus
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

tense · noun, verb1

  1. Latin · derived fromtempus
  2. Old French · derived fromtens
  3. Middle English · inherited fromtens
  4. English todaytense

From Middle English tens, from Old French tens (modern French temps), from Latin tempus. Doublet of tempo and tempus.

tense · adjective, verb2

  1. Latin · borrowed fromtēnsus
  2. English todaytense

Borrowed from Latin tēnsus, one form of the past participle of tendō (“stretch”).

Words from the same roots

Latintempus all →

tempotemporaneoustemporin

Latintēnsus all →

tensity

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.