attend

Where does the word "attend" come from? It comes from Latin attendere, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).

Attend’s story begins in Latin: attendere meant “to stretch toward, to pay heed.” To stretch toward, to pay heed, from ad- (toward) and tendere (to stretch). By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as atendre. Carried into French for waiting for or paying heed to something. It reached English by 1300s as attend. Settled as the English word for being present at or paying attention to something. Today, attend means to be present at an event, or to pay attention to something.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient attendere "to stretch toward, to pay heed", to stretch toward, to pay heed, from ad- (toward) and tendere (to stretch).
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval atendre "to wait for, to pay heed", carried into French for waiting for or paying heed to something.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s attend "to be present at, or to pay attention to something", settled as the English word for being present at or paying attention to something.