# tenir
## Catalan
### Alternative forms

* tindre, tendre

### Etymology

Inherited from Early Medieval Latin tenīre, from Classical Latin tenēre with change of conjugation to -ir also found in Occitan and French.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [təˈni]
* IPA: (Valencia) [teˈniɾ]
* Audio (Barcelona):(file)

### Verb

tenir (first-person singular present tinc, first-person singular preterite tinguí, past participle tingut); root stress: (Central, Valencia, Balearic) /e/
* to have, possess
* to hold

#### Derived terms

* captenir-se
* no tenir preu
* tenir en compte
* tenir lloc
* tenir present
* tenir raó

#### Related terms

* tenidor
* teniment
* tinent

### References

* “tenir” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “tenir”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “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.

## Franco-Provençal
### Alternative forms

* tegnir (ORB, broad)

### Etymology

Inherited from Early Medieval Latin tenīre.

### Verb

tenir (ORB, broad)
* to hold

### References

* tenir in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
* tenir in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

## French
### Etymology

Inherited from Middle French tenir, from Old French tenir, from Early Medieval Latin tenīre, from Classical Latin tenēre.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /tə.niʁ/
* Audio:(file)

### Verb

tenir
* (transitive) to have; to hold
* (transitive) to keep
* (intransitive) to stay; to hold
    tenir bon ― to hold fast, to hold tight
* (reflexive) to hold on [with à ‘to something’]
    La vie ne tient qu’à un fil. ― Life hangs but by a thread.
    Elle descend en se tenant aux racines. ― She comes down using the roots for handles (literally, “She comes down holding on to the roots.”)
* (reflexive) to hold oneself, to be standing
    Il se tenait dans le coin. ― He stood in the corner.
* (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.
* (reflexive) to behave
    Synonym: se comporter
    Tiens-toi bien. ― Behave yourself.
* (intransitive) to be attached (to), to be fond (of), to hold dear [with à ‘someone/something’]
* (intransitive) to hold dear, to be keen about [with à (+ infinitive) or à ce que (+ subjunctive clause) ‘to do something’]
* (transitive) to consider (something) [with pour ‘as’]
    se le tenir pour dit ― to take it as read
    tenir quelque chose pour acquis ― to take something for granted
    tenir quelqu’un pour rien ― to see someone as insignificant, to treat someone as insignificant
* (intransitive) to support [with pour ‘someone’]
* (intransitive) to hold, to defend [with contre ‘against something’]
* (reflexive, Quebec, slang) to hang out, to hang around
** 1975, “Le Vent d ela ville”, in Passagers‎, performed by Beau Dommage, 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’exilI used to hang out in the west end; exile doesn't scare me anymore.
** 1995, “On jase de toi”, in Noir Silence‎, performed by Noir Silence, Disques MPV, MPVCD-1353:Regarde donc ce qu’est devenu le p’tit gars d’à côté // Y se tient avec une gang de droguésLook what happened with the boy next door // He hangs around with a bunch of drug addicts

#### Conjugation

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-).

#### Derived terms

* à l’impossible nul n’est tenu
* compte tenu de
* mieux vaut tenir que courir
* ne tenir qu’à un cheveu
* ne tenir qu’à un fil
* n’avoir qu’à bien se tenir
* qu’à cela ne tienne
* se le tenir pour dit
* se tenir à carreau
* séance tenante
* s’en tenir là
* tenir à
* tenir à cœur
* tenir à l’œil
* tenir à quelque chose comme à la prunelle de ses yeux
* tenir au corps
* tenir au courant
* tenir au jus
* tenir bon
* tenir chaud
* tenir compagnie
* tenir compte
* tenir de
* tenir debout
* tenir en compte
* tenir en échec
* tenir en grande estime
* tenir en haleine
* tenir en haute estime
* tenir en place
* tenir en respect
* tenir la barre
* tenir la boutique
* tenir la cadence
* tenir la chandelle
* tenir la distance
* tenir la dragée haute
* tenir la jambe
* tenir la route
* tenir le bon bout
* tenir le coup
* tenir le haut du pavé
* tenir le pot droit
* tenir le rythme
* tenir les rênes
* tenir lieu
* tenir l’alcool
* tenir parole
* tenir pour acquis
* tenir rigueur
* tenir sa langue
* tenir table ouverte
* tenir tête

#### Related terms

* abstenir
* adtenir
* appartenir
* attenir
* contenir
* contretenir
* détenir
* maintenir
* obtenir
* retenir
* retenir à cœur
* soutenir
* tenir à
* tenir de
* tenir le coup
* tiens

#### Descendants

* Saint Dominican Creole French: tini

### Further reading

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

### Anagrams

* nitre, rient, terni, Terni

## Ido
### Verb

tenir
* past infinitive of tenar

## Middle French
### Etymology

From Old French tenir.

### Noun

tenir
* to hold

#### Descendants

* French: tenir
** Saint Dominican Creole French: tini

### References

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

## Norman
### Etymology

From Old French tenir, from Early Medieval Latin tenīre, from Classical Latin tenēre.

### Verb

tenir
* to possess; to have
* to hold

#### Conjugation
## Occitan
### Etymology

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

### Pronunciation

* Audio (Languedoc):(file)

### Verb

tenir
* Alternative form of téner

## Old French
### Alternative forms

* tenoir (rare; < Latin tenēre)

### Etymology

Inherited from Early Medieval Latin tenīre, from Classical Latin tenēre.

### Verb

tenir
* to possess; to have
* to hold

#### Conjugation

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.

#### Descendants

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

## Old Occitan
### Alternative forms

* tener

### Etymology

Inherited from Early Medieval Latin tenīre, from Classical Latin tenēre.

### Verb

tenir
* to possess; to have
* to hold

#### Descendants

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

### References

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