tent

B1 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /tɛnt/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like taint /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/

Freq #3798

Meanings

1

noun
A shelter made of cloth stretched over poles, used for camping outdoors.

We put up our tent near the river before it got dark.
2

verb
To camp in a tent.

We'll be tenting at the campsite this weekend.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a shelter made of cloth... collapsible shelter

Word family

Forms tentedtentingtents

Derived forms bell-tentbig-tentcook-tenttent-makertent-sacktentismtentpole

Related forms camp lean-to lodge pavilionpavillionpitchtarp

Appears in

Phrases (3)

See all

canvas tent
a tent made from strong canvas fabric

Noun + noun
tent flap
a movable fabric panel covering a tent's entrance or opening

Noun + noun
tent peg
a peg driven into the ground to secure a tent or its ropes

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Tent ultimately comes from Latin tendere “to stretch,” because early tents consisted of skins or cloth stretched over poles.

Etymology

From Middle English tente, borrowed from Old French tente, from Vulgar Latin *tenta (“tent”), from the feminine of Latin tentus, ptp. of tendere (“to stretch, extend”), or contracted from *tendita as an alternate past participle. Displaced native Middle English tild, tilt (“tent, tilt”), from Old English teld (“tent”). Compare Spanish tienda (“store, shop; tent”).

*ten- Proto-Indo-European tente Middle English *tenta la-vul tentus Latin tild, tilt tilt

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# tent

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /tɛnt/
**Frequency rank:** 3798

## Meanings
1. A shelter made of cloth stretched over poles, used for camping outdoors.
2. To camp in a tent.

## Examples
- We put up our tent near the river before it got dark.
- We'll be tenting at the campsite this weekend.

## Derived Forms
- bell-tent
- big-tent
- cook-tent
- tent-maker
- tent-sack
- tentism
- tentpole

## Related Forms
- camp
- lean-to
- lodge
- pavilion
- pavillion
- pitch
- tarp

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ten-
- Root: tente
- Root: *tenta
- Root: tentus
- Root: tild, tilt

## Etymology
From Middle English tente, borrowed from Old French tente, from Vulgar Latin *tenta (“tent”), from the feminine of Latin tentus, ptp. of tendere (“to stretch, extend”), or contracted from *tendita as an alternate past participle. Displaced native Middle English tild, tilt (“tent, tilt”), from Old English teld (“tent”). Compare Spanish tienda (“store, shop; tent”).

## AI Etymology
Tent is from Middle English tente, borrowed from Old French tente, from Vulgar Latin *tenta (“tent”), from the feminine of Latin tentus, ptp. of tendere (“to stretch, extend”), or contracted from *tendita as an alternate past participle. Displaced native Middle English tild, tilt (“tent, tilt”), from Old English teld (“tent”). Compare Spanish tienda (“store, shop; tent”). In present-day use, it can mean a shelter made of cloth stretched over poles, used for camping outdoors, or to camp in a tent.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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