"tennis" in seven languages
Meaningtennis
Spanish
tenis
/ˈtenis/
masc.borrowed · English tennis
French
tennis
/tenis/
masc.borrowed · English tennis
Also a pair of trainers in everyday French: des tennis.
Italian
tennis
/ˈtɛnnis/
masc.borrowed · English tennis
Portuguese
tênis
/ˈtenis/
masc.borrowed · English tennis
In Brazil tênis also means 'sneakers'.
Romanian
tenis
/ˈtenis/
neut.borrowed · English tennis
Catalan
tennis
/ˈtenis/
masc.borrowed · English tennis
English
tennis
/ˈtɛnɪs/
from Latin/French · probably Anglo-French tenetz 'hold! take!'
English → ItaliantennistennisCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
TENĒRE‘to hold’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
The usual explanation: English named the game after the French server's cry tenez! 'here, take it!' (from TENĒRE), and the sisters then borrowed tennis back from English.
English relatives: tenant, retain, contain
Learn it
In a sentence
- esJugamos al tenis los sábados.
- frOn joue au tennis le samedi.
- itGiochiamo a tennis il sabato.
- ptJogamos tênis aos sábados.
- roJucăm tenis sâmbăta.
- caJuguem a tennis els dissabtes.
- enWe play tennis on Saturdays.
More words from the same Latin
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