tenir

• tindre, tendre

From Old Catalan tenir, from early Medieval Latin tenīre, from Latin tenēre.

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /təˈni/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /teˈniɾ/

tenir (first-person singular present tinc, past participle tingut)

1. to have, possess
2. to hold

• “tenir” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “tenir”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
• “tenir” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “tenir” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

• tegnir

From early Medieval Latin tenīre, from Latin tenēre.

tenir

1. to hold

From Middle French tenir, from Old French tenir, from early Medieval Latin tenīre, from Latin tenēre.

• IPA^(key): /tə.niʁ/

• audio

  (file)

tenir

1. (transitive) to have; to hold
2. (transitive) to keep
3. (transitive) to take (e.g., take into account, take into consideration); to consider; to account for; to reflect

   Peut-être devons-nous tenir compte de plusieurs problèmes. ― Maybe we should take several issues into account.

4. (intransitive) to stay; to hold
5. (reflexive, uncommon) to hold on

   Elle descend en se tenant aux racines. ― She comes down using the roots for handles (holding on to the roots).

6. (reflexive) to hold oneself, to be standing

   Il se tenait dans le coin. ― He stood in the corner.

7. (reflexive) to behave

   Tiens-toi bien. ― Behave yourself.

8. (reflexive) to maintain, remain in a certain position or disposition

   Tiens-toi droit! ― Keep yourself straight!

   Elle se tient immobile sur la corde raide. ― She stays still on the tightrope.

9. (transitive with à) to be attached to something, to be fond of something, to hold something dear; to wish to
10. (reflexive, Quebec, slang) to hang out
    • 1975, Beau Dommage, "Le Vent d'la ville", Passagers, Capitol Record (ST-70.055 [V], 4XL56355 [K7], CDL-56355 [CD]):

      "J'me tenais dans l'ouest de la ville, ça me fait plus peur l'exil"

      I used to hang out in the west end; exile doesn't scare me anymore.

This is a verb in a group of -ir verbs. All verbs ending in -tenir, such as contenir and détenir, are conjugated this way. Such verbs are the only verbs whose the past historic and subjunctive imperfect endings do not start in one of these thematic vowels (-a-, -i-, -u-).

This is a verb in a group of -ir verbs. All verbs ending in -tenir, such as contenir and détenir, are conjugated this way. Such verbs are the only verbs whose the past historic and subjunctive imperfect endings do not start in one of these thematic vowels (-a-, -i-, -u-).

• Saint Dominican Creole French: tini

• “tenir”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• nitre, rient, terni, Terni

tenir

1. past infinitive of tenar

From Old French tenir.

tenir

1. to hold

• French: tenir
  • Saint Dominican Creole French: tini

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (tenir, supplement)

From Old French tenir, from early Medieval Latin tenīre, from Latin tenēre.

tenir

1. to possess; to have
2. to hold

From Old Occitan tenir, from early Medieval Latin tenīre, from Latin tenēre.

• Audio (Languedocien)

  (file)

tenir

1. Alternative form of téner

• tenoir (rare; < Latin tenēre)

From early Medieval Latin tenīre, from Latin tenēre.

tenir

1. to possess; to have
2. to hold

This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. This verb has a stressed present stem tien distinct from the unstressed stem ten, as well as other irregularities. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

• Middle French: tenir
  • French: tenir
    • Saint Dominican Creole French: tini
• Norman: tenir
• Walloon: tni, tini
• →⇒ English: tennis (see there for further descendants) (via second-person imperative tenez)

• tener

From early Medieval Latin tenīre, from Latin tenēre.

tenir

1. to possess; to have
2. to hold

• Occitan: téner, tendre, ténguer, tenir, tiéner

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002), “tenēre”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume 13: T–Ti, page 209