pertinence

C2+ Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /ˈpɜrtɪnəns/ UK /ˈpɜːtɪnəns/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
relevance to the matter at hand

The judge doubted the pertinence of the witness's anecdote.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · relevance to the matter at... relevance relevancy applicability aptness appositeness bearinggermaneness

Opposites

irrelevanceinapplicability

Word family

Related forms pertinent pertain appertainpertinency

Etymology

From Medieval Latin pertinentia, from Latin pertinens, present participle of pertinere ('to pertain, relate to'), from per- ('through') + tenere ('to hold').

pertinere Latin tenere Latin *ten- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Abstract Ideas Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# pertinence

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈpɜrtɪnəns/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpɜːtɪnəns/

## Meanings
1. relevance to the matter at hand

## Examples
- The judge doubted the pertinence of the witness's anecdote.

## Synonyms
- relevance
- relevancy
- applicability
- aptness
- appositeness
- bearing
- germaneness

## Antonyms
- irrelevance
- inapplicability

## Related Forms
- pertinent
- pertain
- appertain
- pertinency

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: pertinere
- Root: tenere
- Root: *ten-

## Etymology
From Medieval Latin pertinentia, from Latin pertinens, present participle of pertinere ('to pertain, relate to'), from per- ('through') + tenere ('to hold').

## AI Etymology
Pertinence is from Medieval Latin pertinentia, from Latin pertinens, present participle of pertinere ('to pertain, relate to'), from per- ('through') + tenere ('to hold'). Important recorded forms include pertinere (Latin), tenere (Latin), and *ten- (Proto-Indo-European). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense remains close to that composition, with the parts narrowing into a single lexical item. In current use it covers relevance to the matter at hand. The wider family includes related words such as pertinent, pertain, appertain, and pertinency.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown