English
obtend
Obtend comes from Latin obtendere ‘to stretch or place before or against’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *téndeti.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*téndeti1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tendō1‘to stretch’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtendō2as tendere‘to stretch’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEobtendere2‘to stretch or place before or against’
- Englishearliest quotation 1646obtend2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin tendo
- 2 Wiktionary, English obtend
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1646, Samuel Eaaton: “We rendred another reason (which we have the cleare…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*téndetiWiktionary, Latin tendoreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tendōWiktionary, Latin tendo‘to stretch’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtendōWiktionary, English obtendas tendere‘to stretch’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEobtendereWiktionary, English obtend‘to stretch or place before or against’
- Englishearliest quotation 1646obtendWiktionary, English obtend. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1646, Samuel Eaaton: “We rendred another reason (which we have the cleare…”
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *tendō ‘to stretch’
intentional, hypertension, pretense, hypotension, inattention, pretension, 27 more
through Latin tendō ‘to stretch’
attention, extensive, extension, extent, intention, tension, pretend, attendance, extend, tense, intend, tender, contention, tempt, contend, tensor, tensile, extensible, entente, portent, entendre, detent, portend, 35 more
Today it means
verb To oppose; to hold out in opposition.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “obtend”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin tendo. 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 *téndeti / obtend