IMPERTINENT

PRONUNCIATION: (im-PURT-nuhnt)

MEANING: adjective: 1. Presumptuous or rude. 2. Irrelevant.

ETYMOLOGY: From in- (not) + pertinere (to pertain), from per- (through) + tenere (to hold). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ten- (to stretch), which also gave us tense, tenet, tendon, tent, tenor, tender, pretend, extend, tenure, tetanus, hypotenuse, tenuous, tenable, extenuate, distend, detente, countenance, and abstentious. Earliest documented use: 1380.

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IMPERATINENT - the Emperor's realm fills this entire land mass

IMBERTINENT - Hi, my name is Bertinent !

IMPEXTINENT - that naughty little critter used to rent an apartment in the building I own