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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
Sharon Udasin, The Hill, 29 Mar. 2025
The Royals’ biggest decisions could pertain to their outfield mix.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 21 Mar. 2025
However, Bullock also emphasized that the question should be more about whether one partner is withholding information and refusing to share access to something that pertains to the relationship.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2025
That's the day that the men's basketball tournament officially starts, so the X Bracket Challenge presumably pertains to that series of games.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 19 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Pertain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pertain. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.
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pertain
verb
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