Tent
/tɛnt/noun
A portable shelter made of fabric or other flexible material stretched over poles or a frame.
Did you know?The Latin ancestor of tent is related to the word tendon, because both trace back to an ancient root meaning “to stretch.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ten-
“To stretch or extend”
Classical Latin
Latin
tendere
“To stretch, spread, or extend”
Classical Latin
Latin
tentum
“Something stretched; a tent or covering”
Late Latin
Latin
tentorium
“A tent or stretched shelter”
12th–13th Century
Old French
tente
“A tent or portable shelter”
Late 14th Century
Middle English
tent
“A portable fabric shelter”
Modern English
English
tent
“A shelter of fabric stretched over poles or a frame”