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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
Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 May 2025
The panel's judgement pertained to two lawsuits — one filed by a group of states led by Arizona and Oregon, and other led by several small businesses.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 29 May 2025
Trump’s administration has also focused on social media posts in its investigation, particularly pertaining to Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 29 May 2025
Investors will be looking for any information pertaining to export restrictions to China and the impact on its chips.
—Brian Evans, CNBC, 28 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Pertain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pertain. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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pertain
verb
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