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Where does the word "tennis" come from? It comes from Old French tenez, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).
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Where does the word "tennis" come from? It comes from Old French tenez, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).
Tennis’s story begins in Old French: tenez meant “hold, receive.” Literally hold, receive, called out by a server before striking the ball. It reached English by 1400s as tennis. Settled as the English name for the racquet-and-ball court game. Today, tennis means a sport played with racquets and a ball on a marked court.
- Stage 1 · Old French · medieval tenez "hold, receive", literally hold, receive, called out by a server before striking the ball.
- Stage 2 · English · 1400s tennis "a racquet sport played on a court", settled as the English name for the racquet-and-ball court game.