pertain

verb

per·​tain pər-ˈtān 

pertained; pertaining; pertains

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

Did you know?

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 certainly exceptions. And a few tenēre words don't follow the usual pattern: tenacious and tenure are two.

Synonyms of pertain

• belong

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

As Landfair details in the book for the first time, the years between 2002 – when Kelly was arrested on a 21-count indictment pertaining to child pornography charges – and his 2008 acquittal were spent under a fog, with Kelly keeping Landfair under his thumb even more than before. —Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 31 Jan. 2026

Notably, that case pertained to inland Lake Winnebago. —Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 30 Jan. 2026

The act gave the Justice Department 30 days to make publicly available all unclassified records pertaining to investigations and prosecutions of Epstein and Maxwell. —Luke Barr, ABC News, 30 Jan. 2026

Friday’s long overdue document dump is said to contain more than 3 million pages pertaining to the Epstein investigation. —Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 30 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Rhymes for pertain

• abstain
• airplane
• alkane
• arcane
• arraign
• attain
• backplane
• betaine
• biplane
• blockchain
• butane
• campaign

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Kids Definition

pertain

verb

per·​tain pər-ˈtān 

1

: to belong to a person or thing as a part, quality, or function

duties that pertain to an office

2

: to have reference

books pertaining to birds