English
tendon
Tendon comes from Ancient Greek τένων ‘sinew, tendon’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-1‘to stretch’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτένων2ténōn‘sinew, tendon’
- Frenchc. 1600–presenttendon2uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 2016tendon2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τένων
- 2 Wiktionary, English tendon
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2016, Ian McEwan, Nutshell: “I hear a wrenching sound of tendons stretching and…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τένων‘to stretch’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτένωνWiktionary, English tendonténōn‘sinew, tendon’
- Frenchc. 1600–presenttendonWiktionary, English tendonuncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 2016tendonWiktionary, English tendon. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2016, Ian McEwan, Nutshell: “I hear a wrenching sound of tendons stretching and…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch’
continue, tight, obtain, contain, content, entertainment, tune, maintenance, tone, retain, continuous, ton, sustain, tennis, continent, detention, rein, tender, pristine, tenant, retention, continuum, detain, pertinent, tonic, abstinence, tenor, 84 more
through Ancient Greek τένων ‘sinew, tendon’
Another origin of tendon
- Japanesemodern天丼tendon‘tendon, tempura donburi’
- Englishtodaytendon
Today it means
noun A tough band of flexible but inelastic fibrous collagen tissue that connects a muscle with its bony attachment and transmits the force which the muscle exerts.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “tendon”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek τένων. 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- / tendon