English
portend
Portend comes from Latin portendere ‘to foretell’, from tendō ‘to stretch’, and ultimately from 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 CEportendere2‘to foretell’
- Englishearliest quotation 1671portend2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin tendo
- 2 Wiktionary, English portend
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1671, John Milton, The First Book: “A kingdom they portend thee, but what kingdom, /…”.
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 portendas tendere‘to stretch’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEportendereWiktionary, English portend‘to foretell’
- Englishearliest quotation 1671portendWiktionary, English portend. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1671, John Milton, The First Book: “A kingdom they portend thee, but what kingdom, /…”
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *tendō ‘to stretch’
intentional, hypertension, pretense, inattention, hypotension, pretension, 29 more
through Latin tendō ‘to stretch’
attention, extensive, extension, extent, intention, tension, pretend, attendance, extend, tense, intend, tender, contention, tempt, contend, tensile, tensor, extensible, entente, entendre, detent, 37 more
Today it means
verb To serve as a warning or omen of.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “portend”; 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 / portend