English
intenible
Intenible comes from Latin teneō ‘to hold’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch, draw’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-1‘to stretch, draw’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tenēō1‘to hold’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEteneō2‘to hold’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1604–1605intenible2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin teneo
- 2 Wiktionary, English intenible
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1604–1605, William Shakespeare, All’s Well, that Ends Well: “this captious and intenible sieve”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-Wiktionary, Latin teneo‘to stretch, draw’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tenēōWiktionary, Latin teneo‘to hold’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEteneōWiktionary, English intenible‘to hold’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1604–1605intenibleWiktionary, English intenible. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1604–1605, William Shakespeare, All’s Well, that Ends Well: “this captious and intenible sieve”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch, draw’
tight, tone, ton, tune, obtain, entertainment, maintenance, tender, tonic, pristine, tendon, pertinent, tenacious, tetanus, countenance, tantra, maintainer, hypotenuse, tendinitis, retentive, 62 more
through Proto-Italic *tenēō ‘to hold’
container, incontinent, 18 more
through Latin teneō ‘to hold’
continue, content, contain, retain, continuous, tennis, sustain, continent, detention, retention, tenant, rein, continuum, detain, tenor, abstain, abstinence, tenacity, pertain, sustenance, tenet, incontinence, retinue, tenement, abstention, tenable, continence, abstinent, 20 more
Today it means
adj Incapable of holding or containing.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “intenible”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin teneo. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *ten- / intenible