Definition of PERTAIN

Did You Know?

Pertain comes to us 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, obtain, maintain, 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

books pertaining to the country's history the belief that quality medical care is a right that pertains to everyone

Recent Examples on the Web

Monday's Supreme Court decision to strike down the federal regulations that prevent states from making their own laws pertaining to sports gambling did not legalize the practice just yet. — Khadrice Rollins, SI.com, "NCAA Will Host Championships in States That Permit Sports Gambling," 17 May 2018 The superintendent, Chris Houston, has declined to discuss his employment status, citing federal and state privacy laws pertaining to personnel issues. — Nesa Mangal, Good Housekeeping, "Teacher Caught on Video Going Off on a Student in Class," 11 Mar. 2016 These calls weren’t just for livestock issues, but for all issues pertaining to black vultures. — Jordyn Hermani, Indianapolis Star, "Black vultures are eating cows alive. But it's difficult to legally kill the birds.," 13 July 2018 July's first eclipse on Thursday, July 12 highlights your domestic zone, directly impacting issues pertaining to your emotional foundation. — Aliza Kelly Faragher, Allure, "What July's Aries Horoscope Means for You," 29 June 2018 But most Republicans are discussing a series of other measures to address the situation, proving that like most issues pertaining to immigration, a legislative fix is going to be difficult to achieve. — NBC News, "No clear path forward in Congress to end family separations," 19 June 2018 Furthermore, after outlining the potential issues pertaining to Ronaldo's sponsorship deal with Nike, the report went on to reveal Madrid have broken several promises to the 33-year-old regarding his pay with the La Liga giants. — SI.com, "Spanish Report Provides Update on Ronaldo's Real Madrid Issues as Future Remains Uncertain," 6 June 2018 Litigation over a request Courier Journal submitted to the state government for public records pertaining to Braidy shareholders is pending in court. — Morgan Watkins, The Courier-Journal, "Braidy Industries breaks ground on Bevin-backed, $1.5B aluminum mill," 1 June 2018 Investigators were searching for evidence to corroborate the accusations, including cell phones, surveillance recordings, computer hard drives, and records pertaining to employees and residents, according to the warrants. — Anneclaire Stapleton, CNN, "Dozens of girls still in care facility after allegations of sexual, physical abuse surface, DA says," 17 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pertain.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.