English
tenant
Tenant comes from Anglo-Norman tenaunt, from Latin teneō ‘hold, keep’, 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
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEteneō2as tenēre‘hold, keep’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400tenaunt2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tenaunt2
- Englishearliest quotation 1647tenant2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin teneo
- 2 Wiktionary, English tenant
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1647, Abraham Cowley: “the happy tenant of your shade”.
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 tenantas tenēre‘hold, keep’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400tenauntWiktionary, English tenant
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tenauntWiktionary, English tenant
- Englishearliest quotation 1647tenantWiktionary, English tenant. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1647, Abraham Cowley: “the happy tenant of your shade”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch, draw’
tight, tone, obtain, ton, tune, entertainment, maintenance, tender, tonic, pristine, pertinent, tendon, 71 more
through Proto-Italic *tenēō ‘to hold’
through Latin teneō ‘hold, keep’
continue, contain, content, retain, continuous, sustain, tennis, continent, detention, rein, retention, continuum, detain, abstinence, tenor, 33 more
Today it means
noun One who holds a lease (a tenancy).
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “tenant”; 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- / tenant