Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Tend in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels tend as verb. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913verb
Tend

[Aphetic form of attend. See Attend, Tend to move, and cf. Tender one that tends or attends.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordtend
Part of speechverb
Historical etymology[Aphetic form of attend. See Attend, Tend to move, and cf. Tender one that tends or attends.]
Selected historical definitionTo accompany as an assistant or protector; to care for the wants of; to look after; to watch; to guard; as, shepherds tend their flocks.
Signed record IDwebster1913-tend-verb-9f7c431f72bc
Source locatorCIDE.T, paragraph 2300; Gutenberg eBook 669
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 669Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "tend" is labeled verb. Its etymology is recorded as: "[Aphetic form of attend. See Attend, Tend to move, and cf. Tender one that tends or attends.]" The selected historical definition says: "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."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

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