Etymograph

English

extension

Extension comes from Middle English extensioun, and goes back to Latin extensiō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEextensiō1as extensiō
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400estension1
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500extensioun1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1650extension1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English extension
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […]: “For station is properly no rest, but one kind…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEextensiōWiktionary, English extensionas extensiō
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400estensionWiktionary, English extension
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500extensiounWiktionary, English extension
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1650extensionWiktionary, English extension. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […]: “For station is properly no rest, but one kind…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with extension, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Italic *tendō ‘to stretch’

  • pretend ← pretendre ← praetendō ← tendō
  • attendance ← atendance ← atendre ← attendo ← tendō
  • intend ← intenden ← entendre ← intendo ← tendō
  • tender ← tendren ← tendre ← tendō
  • intentional ← intentiōnālis ← intentiō ← intendō ← tendō
  • contend ← contenden ← contendre ← contendere ← tendō
  • pretense ← pretensse ← praetēnsus ← praetendō ← tendō
  • entendre ← intendō ← tendō
  • inattention ← attention ← attentio ← attendō ← tendō
  • portend ← portendere ← tendō

through Latin tendō

  • attention ← attencioun ← attentiō ← attendō
  • tend ← tenden ← tendre ← tendre

88 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun The act of extending; a stretching out; enlargement in length, breadth, or time; an increase.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “extension”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin extensiō / extension