THE FIRST WORD

distend

PRONUNCIATION:

(di-STEND) 

MEANING:

verb tr., intr.: To swell, inflate, or extend.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin dis- (away, apart) + tendere (to stretch). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ten- (to stretch), which is also the source of tense, tenet, tendon, tent, tenor, tender, pretend, extend, tenure, tetanus, hypotenuse, tenable, tenuous, extenuate, countenance, pertinacious, and detente. Earliest documented use: 1400.

USAGE:

"My lungs felt inefficient, distended, like balloons full of water."
Edwin Cameron; Was I Ready to Be a Judge with HIV?; Mail and Guardian (Johannesburg, South Africa); Feb 7, 2014.