Link Centre Dictionary

tend

UK/ˈtɛnd/ US/ˈtɪnd/ common

verb

1.

have a tendency or disposition to do or be something; be inclined

  • “She tends to be nervous before her lectures”
  • “These dresses run small”
  • “He inclined to corpulence”
Synonyms
2.

have care of or look after

  • “She tends to the children”
3.

manage or run

  • “tend a store”

Origin

From Middle English tenden, from Old English tendan (“to kindle, set on fire”) (usually in compounds ātendan, fortendan, ontendan), from Proto-Germanic *tandijaną (“to kindle”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Danish tænde (“to kindle”), Swedish tända (“to ignite”), Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (tandjan, “to kindle”), Icelandic tendra (“to ignite”), German zünden (“to light, ignite, fire”). Related to tinder.

Phrases

  • be given to
  • tend bar
  • tend to one's knitting
  • tend to one's own knitting

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Word family

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.