Did you know?
Pertain comes to English via Anglo-French from the Latin verb pertinēre, meaning "to reach to" or "to belong." Pertinēre, in turn, was formed by combining the prefix per- (meaning "through") and tenēre ("to hold"). Tenēre is a popular root in English words and often manifests with the -tain spelling that can be seen in pertain. Other descendants include abstain, contain, detain, maintain, obtain, retain, and sustain, to name a few of the more common ones. Not every -tain word has tenēre in its ancestry, though. Ascertain, attain, and certain are certainly exceptions. And a few tenēre words don't follow the usual pattern: tenacious and tenure are two.
Examples of pertain in a Sentence
Time For Kids, TIME, 21 Feb. 2025
But for cases within the agency’s purview — pertaining to large financial services companies — the complaint is routed to that company, which typically has 15 days to respond.
—Matt Sedensky, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2025
Further, flexibility and choice do not pertain only to knowledge workers.
—John M. Bremen, Forbes, 18 Feb. 2025
That pertains not just to the dexterity of regular cinematographer Shane F. Kelly’s camerawork, which weaves around the joint playing with spatial dynamics and maintaining visual interest.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pertain
Cite this Entry
“Pertain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pertain. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pertain
verb
Share