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Pertain comes to English via Anglo-French from the Latin verb pertinēre, meaning "to reach to" or "to belong." Pertinēre, in turn, was formed by combining the prefix per- (meaning "through") and tenēre ("to hold"). Tenēre is a popular root in English words and often manifests with the -tain spelling that can be seen in pertain. Other descendants include abstain, contain, detain, maintain, obtain, retain, and sustain, to name a few of the more common ones. Not every -tain word has tenēre in its ancestry, though. Ascertain, attain, and certain are among the exceptions. And a few tenēre words don't follow the usual pattern: tenacious and tenure are two.
Examples of pertain in a Sentence
Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 3 June 2024
This part of the brain is involved in higher cognitive development, including functions pertaining to attention, memory and cognitive flexibility.
—Jon-Patrick Allem, The Conversation, 31 May 2024
My mom, Joyce, and my aunt, Rosalyn, have been advocating for so long – giving speeches, talking about things pertaining to my grandfather's legacy and talking about his story.
—Abc News, ABC News, 30 May 2024
Young people tend to lean more liberal on issues pertaining to relationship norms.
—Francesca Mari, New York Times, 22 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for pertain 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pertain.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Pertain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pertain. Accessed 7 Jun. 2024.
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pertain
verb
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