intentional
/ˌɪnˈtenʃənəl/in-TEN-shuh-nuhl
/ˌɪnˈtɛnʃənəl/in-TEN-shuh-nuhl
Meaningrelating to stretching toward
Common meaning: done with intention
- inin, into; (before adjectives) not
- tentto stretch out; to aim atLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1852 · scan
- ionnoun ending: act or result
- aladjective ending: relating to
‘in, into’ + ‘to stretch out’ → intentional
Journey through time
- Latintendō, tetendī, tentum/tēnsum‘to stretch out’
- Middle Englishententesource
- Englishintent‘a purpose or aim’
- Englishformed in English from intentintention‘a plan or aim’
- Englishformed in English from intentionintentional‘done with intention’ · today
Sources & notes
Inferred source: no dictionary we use has an entry for this exact word. Its history is worked out from closely related, listed words in the same family, and we are trusting that link, so bear that in mind. Inferred meaning: relating to stretching toward. It can be inferred from any of: intention.
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from intention + -al (inferred: this exact word is not listed in our dictionaries).
Roots
- tendō, tetendī, tentum/tēnsum Latin “to stretch out; to aim at”
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