English
tenable
Tenable comes from French tenable, from tenir ‘to hold’, and ultimately from 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
- Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEteneo2as tenēre‘to hold, have’
- Early Medieval Latinmoderntenīre2
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400tenir2‘to hold’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600tenir2‘to hold’
- Frenchc. 1600–presenttenir3‘to hold’
- Frenchc. 1600–presenttenable3
- Englishearliest quotation 1679tenable3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin teneo
- 2 Wiktionary, French tenir
- 3 Wiktionary, English tenable
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1679, Roberta Elizabeth Foote, The ancestors and descendants of Theodore Munroe Foote: “In February, 1679, he was admitted "a planter" of…”.
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
- Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEteneoWiktionary, French teniras tenēre‘to hold, have’
- Early Medieval LatinmoderntenīreWiktionary, French tenir
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400tenirWiktionary, French tenir‘to hold’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600tenirWiktionary, French tenir‘to hold’
- Frenchc. 1600–presenttenirWiktionary, English tenable‘to hold’
- Frenchc. 1600–presenttenableWiktionary, English tenable
- Englishearliest quotation 1679tenableWiktionary, English tenable. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1679, Roberta Elizabeth Foote, The ancestors and descendants of Theodore Munroe Foote: “In February, 1679, he was admitted "a planter" of…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch, draw’
tight, tone, obtain, entertainment, ton, tune, maintenance, tender, tonic, pristine, pertinent, tendon, tetanus, tantra, tenacious, countenance, maintainer, tendinitis, retentive, hypotenuse, 63 more
through Proto-Italic *tenēō ‘to hold’
container, incontinent, 19 more
through Classical Latin teneo ‘to hold, have’
continue, content, contain, continuous, retain, sustain, continent, detention, retention, continuum, rein, detain, tenant, tenor, pertain, abstain, abstinence, incontinence, retinue, tenacity, tenet, sustenance, tenement, abstention, continence, abstinent, 21 more
through Old French tenir ‘to hold’
Today it means
adj capable of being maintained or justified; well-founded
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “tenable”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin teneo, French tenir. 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- / tenable