pertain

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verb per·tain \ pər-ˈtān \

Definition of pertain

intransitive verb

1 a (1) :to belong as a part, member, accessory, or product

(2) :to belong as an attribute, feature, or function

the destruction pertaining to war

(3) :to belong as a duty or right

rights that pertain to fatherhood

b :to be appropriate to something

which rule pertains?

2 :to have reference

books pertaining to birds

See pertain defined for English-language learners

See pertain defined for kids

pertain was our Word of the Day on 05/25/2013. Hear the podcast!

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 of pertain from the Web

The email was sent to a general inbox used by the Kremlin press service, which Peskov said receives thousands of emails pertaining to courts, law enforcement and business topics that the Kremlin regularly passes on.

— andrew roth, chicagotribune.com, "Kremlin says it got the Trump Tower email but didn't respond," 30 Aug. 2017
The email was sent to a general inbox used by the Kremlin press service, which Peskov said receives thousands of emails pertaining to courts, law enforcement and business topics that the Kremlin regularly passes on.

— andrew roth, Washington Post, "Kremlin says it got the Trump Tower email but didn’t respond," 30 Aug. 2017
Not far from the club table, sponsors or officers stand by to help all students with any questions pertaining to their club.

— high school columnist, NOLA.com, "Covington High's Club Expo gives student plethora of options," 28 Aug. 2017
Montes’ attorneys are asking Calexico border authorities for several pieces of evidence pertaining to Feb. 18 operations, including surveillance videos, patrol logs and agent staffing.

— kristina davis, sandiegouniontribune.com, "'Dreamer' suing border authorities may testify in San Diego lawsuit sooner than expected," 23 Aug. 2017
North Carolina law requires government correspondence – including emails, memos and texts – be saved and subject to public disclosure if the content pertains to public business.

— anna douglas and caroline metzler, charlotteobserver, "Town official calls neighbors ‘loud mouths.’ Then he learned his text was public record.," 3 Aug. 2017
That rule requires that only matters directly pertaining to the federal budget are included.

— julie rovner, Kaiser Health News, "Senate Parliamentarian Upends GOP Hopes For Health Bill," 21 July 2017
Our main goal is to clarify or simplify all the complications going on with federal or state governments pertaining to employee benefits.

— jane m. von bergen, Philly.com, "Jersey CEO's focus: Monitoring the tumult in health care," 6 July 2017
Anyone with information pertaining to the case is asked to call the Elk Grove Police Department Communication Center at 916-714-5115 or Crime Stoppers at 916-443-4357.

— cathy locke, sacbee.com, "Suspect arrested in fatal shooting at Elk Grove apartment complex," 5 July 2017

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.

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.

Origin and Etymology of pertain

Middle English perteinen, from Anglo-French partenir, purteiner, from Latin pertinēre to reach to, belong, from per- through + tenēre to hold — more at thin

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First Known Use: 14th century

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