Etymograph

English

tender

Tender comes from Latin tener ‘soft, delicate’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch, draw’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-1‘to stretch, draw’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtener2as tener‘soft, delicate’
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400tendre2
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tender2
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1591tender2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin tener, which cites de Vaan
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English tender
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1591, William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona: “I love Valentine, Whose life's as tender to me…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-Wiktionary, Latin tener, which cites de Vaan‘to stretch, draw’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtenerWiktionary, English tenderas tener‘soft, delicate’
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400tendreWiktionary, English tender
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tenderWiktionary, English tender
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1591tenderWiktionary, English tender. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1591, William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona: “I love Valentine, Whose life's as tender to me…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch, draw’

continue, tight, content, contain, tone, obtain, ton, tune, maintenance, continuous, retain, entertainment, sustain, continent, tennis, retention, continuum, detention, tonic, rein, pristine, tenant, abstain, abstinence, pertinent, detain, tenor, incontinence, tenacity, tenacious, pertain, sustenance, tetanus, retinue, tantra, countenance, tendon, tenet, tenement, maintainer, 72 more

Another origin of tender

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*tundrą‘tinder’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tundrreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150tynder‘tinder, fuel’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tinderas tender‘tinder, firestarters’
  5. Englishtodaytender

Another origin of tender

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*téndetireconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tendō‘to stretch’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtendōas tendere‘to stretch, stretch out, distend, extend’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400tendre‘stretch out’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tendren
  6. Englishtodaytender

Today it means

adj Sensitive or painful to the touch.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “tender”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin tener. 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- / tender

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