Intension
/ɪnˈtɛn.ʃən/noun
The act of stretching or intensifying; in logic and semantics, the internal content or meaning of a term.
Did you know?Intension and intention were once much closer in form and sense, but scholars later separated them in logic: one points to a term’s inner meaning, the other to purpose or aim.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ten-
“to stretch”
Latin
Latin
tendere
“to stretch, extend, strain”
Late Latin
Latin
intensio
“a stretching out, straining”
Middle English
English
intensioun
“a stretching or straining; later, force or effort”
16th–17th Century
English
intension
“the act or state of stretching; force, strain”
Modern English
English
intension
“the internal content or comprehension of a term, or the act of intensifying”