tennis (English)
Where does "tennis" come from?
The English word 'tennis' developed from the Middle English form 'tennys'[1]. It traces back to the Old French word 'tenez'[1], which served as the second-person plural imperative form of the verb 'tenir', meaning 'to hold'[1]. The verb 'tenir' itself descended from Latin 'tenēre' via Early Medieval Latin 'tenīre'[2]. In the context of the sport, this imperative cry was traditionally called out by the server to alert the opponent to take or receive the ball.
Full etymology tree
- tennis (English), 'A sport played by two players (or four in doubles), who alternately strike the ball over a net using racquets.'
- inherited tennys (Middle English)
- borrowed tenez (Old French), 'second-person plural present indicative of tenir'
- derived tenir (Old French), 'to possess; to have'
- inherited tenīre (Early Medieval Latin)
- inherited tenere (Latin), 'tenderly, lovingly'
- inherited tenīre (Early Medieval Latin)
- derived tenir (Old French), 'to possess; to have'
- borrowed tenez (Old French), 'second-person plural present indicative of tenir'
- inherited tennys (Middle English)
Ancestors
- tenez (Old French)
Descendants and derived words
- թենիս (Armenian)
- tenis (Asturian)
- tenis (Basque)
- တင်းနစ် (Burmese)
- tennis (Catalan)
- tenis (Czech)
- tennis (Danish)
- tennis (Dutch)
- tennis (Dutch)
- anti-tennis (English)
- anti-tennis (English)
- court tennis (English)
Sources
Updated September 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris