tenir de

Definition & meaning

The French expression tenir de is used to indicate that someone inherits a trait, characteristic, or physical resemblance from an ancestor or another person. It conveys the idea of "taking after" someone.

1. To resemble or take after: When used with a person as the object, it means to share personality traits, behaviors, or physical features with a family member (e.g., "Il tient de son père" means "He takes after his father").
2. To stem from or be derived from: In some contexts, it can imply that something has its origin or basis in a specific source or quality (e.g., "Cela tient du miracle" means "That is nothing short of a miracle").

Grammar & Word origin

• Grammar: This is a pronominal verb phrase consisting of the verb tenir (to hold) followed by the preposition de. It is typically followed by a noun or a pronoun representing the person or thing from whom the trait or origin is derived.
• Word origin: The verb tenir comes from the Latin tenere, meaning "to hold" or "to keep." In this specific construction, the sense of "holding" is metaphorically extended to "possessing a quality inherited from."

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms:

• Ressembler à[?](vocabuo://word/ressembler à) (to resemble)
• Hériter de[?](vocabuo://word/hériter de) (to inherit from)
• Avoir des traits de[?](vocabuo://word/avoir des traits de) (to have traits of)
• Se rapporter à[?](vocabuo://word/se rapporter à) (to relate to/stem from)

Antonyms:

• Différer de[?](vocabuo://word/différer de) (to differ from)
• Se distinguer de[?](vocabuo://word/se distinguer de) (to be distinguished from/not resemble)