To contain is to hold together, and a tenant holds a home. ten (also tain and tin) means “hold.” A pendulum hangs and swings: pend (also pens) means “hang” or “weigh.” To transfer is to carry across: fer means “carry.” And a refund pours money back: fund (also fus) means “pour.”
Key idea
ten, tain, tin = hold. pend, pens = hang, weigh, pay. fer = carry, bear. fund, fus = pour.
Long ago, money was weighed out on scales, so pend (weigh) also came to mean “pay”: expensive things need much money weighed out. And a pensive person is weighing thoughts.
The parts and their words
Words taken apart
| Word and meaning | Parts, and what they say |
|---|---|
| tenacious holding firmly to something; persistent | ten hold + -acious → “holding fast” |
| tenet a principle held as true by a group | ten hold + -et → “a thing held (true)” |
| untenable not able to be defended | un- not + ten hold + -able able to be → “not able to be held” |
| abstain to choose not to do or have something | abs- away + tain hold → “hold away from” |
| sustain to keep going; to support | sus- from under + tain hold → “hold up from under” |
| propensity a natural tendency to behave a certain way | pro- forward + pens hang + -ity → “a hanging forward (a leaning)” |
| pensive deeply thoughtful, often sadly | pens weigh + -ive → “weighing (thoughts)” |
| infer to reach a conclusion from evidence or hints | in- in + fer carry → “carry in (to a conclusion)” |
| profuse plentiful; pouring out | pro- forth + fus pour + -e → “poured forth” |
| diffuse to spread out | dif- apart + fus pour + -e → “poured apart” |
Worked example: Use the parts
Grandma’s new couch was expensive. What does the root tell you about the word?
- Take it apart: ex- (out) + pens (weigh, pay) + -ive (tending to).
- Long ago, coins were weighed out on scales to pay for things.
- An expensive thing needs a lot of money weighed out.
Answer: Costing a lot of money.
Meet the words
Common mistake
Missing ten when its vowel changes: tain and tin are the same root (contain, abstain, sustain, continue). And the pens in pensive is about weighing thoughts, not about pens.