Etymograph

English

propension

Propension comes from French propension ‘propensity, proclivity’, from Latin prōpendeō ‘to hang down, forth or forward’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- ‘to stretch’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pend-1‘to stretch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pn̥d-éh₁ye-ti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pendējō1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pendēō1‘to hang, to be hanging’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpendeō1‘to be suspended, hang’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōpendeō2‘to hang down, forth or forward’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōpēnsiō3‘inclination, propensity, tendency’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentpropension3‘propensity, proclivity’
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1602propension3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin propendeo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin propensio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English propension
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1602, William Shakespeare: “But I aſſeſt the gods, your full conſent, /…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pend-Wiktionary, Latin propendeo‘to stretch’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)pn̥d-éh₁ye-tiWiktionary, Latin propendeoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pendējōWiktionary, Latin propendeoreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pendēōWiktionary, Latin propendeo‘to hang, to be hanging’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpendeōWiktionary, Latin propendeo‘to be suspended, hang’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōpendeōWiktionary, Latin propensio‘to hang down, forth or forward’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōpēnsiōWiktionary, English propension‘inclination, propensity, tendency’
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentpropensionWiktionary, English propension‘propensity, proclivity’
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1602propensionWiktionary, English propension. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1602, William Shakespeare: “But I aſſeſt the gods, your full conſent, /…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- ‘to stretch’

spend, pound, expensive, span, expense, compensation, expenditure, compensate, appendix, pendant, perpendicular, poise, penthouse, peso, compendium, pansy, expend, append, piso, dispensation, recompense, pensive, 18 more

through Latin pendeō ‘to be suspended, hang’

depend, pendulum, pendulous, 2 more

Today it means

noun Propensity.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “propension”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin propendeo, Latin propensio. 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 *(s)pend- / propension

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