TEND
tend
(verb) manage or run; “tend a store”
tend
(verb) have care of or look after; “She tends to the children”
tend, be given, lean, incline, run
(verb) have a tendency or disposition to do or be something; be inclined; “She tends to be nervous before her lectures”; “These dresses run small”; “He inclined to corpulence”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Verb
tend (third-person singular simple present tends, present participle tending, simple past and past participle tended)
(legal, Old English law) To make a tender of; to offer or tender.
(followed by a to-infinitive) To be likely, or probable to do something, or to have a certain habit or leaning. [from the mid-14th c.]
(intransitive) To contribute to or toward some outcome.
Usage notes
• In sense 2. this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive.
• See English catenative verbs
Etymology 2
Verb
tend (third-person singular simple present tends, present participle tending, simple past and past participle tended)
(with to) To look after (e.g. an ill person.) [from the early 14th c.]
To accompany as an assistant or protector; to care for the wants of; to look after; to watch; to guard.
To wait (upon), as attendants or servants; to serve; to attend.
(obsolete) To await; to expect.
(obsolete) To be attentive to; to note carefully; to attend to.
(transitive, nautical) To manage (an anchored vessel) when the tide turns, to prevent it from entangling the cable when swinging.
Synonyms
• (to look after): care for, minister to, nurse, see to, take care of
• (to accompany as an assistant): guard, look after, watch
• (to wait upon): See also serve
• (to await): See also wait for
• (to be attentive to): attend to
• (to manage when the tide turns)
Etymology 3
Verb
tend (third-person singular simple present tends, present participle tending, simple past and past participle tended)
(transitive, now chiefly dialectal) To kindle; ignite; set on fire; light; inflame; burn.
Anagrams
• Dent, dent
Source: Wiktionary
Tend, v. t. Etym: [See Tender to offer.] (O. Eng. Law)
Definition: To make a tender of; to offer or tender. [Obs.]
Tend, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tended; p. pr. & vb. n. Tending.] Etym:
[Aphetic form of attend. See Attend, Tend to move, and cf. Tender one
that tends or attends.]
1. To accompany as an assistant or protector; to care for the wants
of; to look after; to watch; to guard; as, shepherds tend their
flocks. Shak.
And flaming ministers to watch and tend Their earthly charge. Milton.
There 's not a sparrow or a wren, There 's not a blade of autumn
grain, Which the four seasons do not tend And tides of life and
increase lend. Emerson.
2. To be attentive to; to note carefully; to attend to.
Being to descend A ladder much in height, I did not tend My way well
down. Chapman.
To tend a vessel (Naut.), to manage an anchored vessel when the tide
turns, so that in swinging she shall not entangle the cable.
Tend, v. i.
1. To wait, as attendants or servants; to serve; to attend; -- with
on or upon.
Was he not companion with the riotous knights That tend upon my
father Shak.
2. Etym: [F. attendre.]
Definition: To await; to expect. [Obs.] Shak.
Tend, v. i. Etym: [F. tendre, L. tendere, tensum and tentum, to
stretch, extend, direct one's course, tend; akin to Gr. tan. See
Thin, and cf. Tend to attend, Contend, Intense, Ostensible, Portent,
Tempt, Tender to offer, Tense, a.]
1. To move in a certain direction; -- usually with to or towards.
Two gentlemen tending towards that sight. Sir H. Wotton.
Thus will this latter, as the former world, Still tend from bad to
worse. Milton.
The clouds above me to the white Alps tend. Byron.
2. To be directed, as to any end, object, or purpose; to aim; to have
or give a leaning; to exert activity or influence; to serve as a
means; to contribute; as, our petitions, if granted, might tend to
our destruction.
The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every
one that is hasty only to want. Prov. xxi. 5.
The laws of our religion tend to the universal happiness of mankind.
Tillotson.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition