pretendv.

Brit.

/prᵻˈtɛnd/, U.S.

/priˈtɛnd/,

/prəˈtɛnd/

Forms: Middle English portendynge (present participle, transmission error), Middle English pretend (past participle), Middle English pretende (past tense), Middle English–1600s pretende, Middle English– pretend, 1500s praetende, 1500s–1600s praetend, 1900s– purtend (Irish English); Scottish pre-1700 praetend, pre-1700 pretend (past tense), pre-1700 pretende, pre-1700 1700s– pretend.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French pretendre; Latin praetendere.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman and Middle French pretendre, French prétendre to claim, demand (1320 in Old French), to assert, allege (c1380), to aspire to (1409), to feign (a1412 or earlier), to put forward as a pretext or reason (1470), to intend (a1475), to court (1638) and its etymon classical Latin praetendere to hold or stretch out, to extend in front, to put forward as a pretext or reason, to allege, to offer or show deceptively, to make a pretence of, to put forward a claim to, in post-classical Latin also to indicate, signify (from 6th cent. in British sources) < prae- pre- prefix + tendere tend v.² Compare Old Occitan pretendre (1397), Catalan pretendre (1393), Spanish pretender (c1255), Portuguese pretender (1493), Italian pretendere (14th cent.).

1. To put forward as an assertion or statement; to allege, assert, contend, claim, declare; esp. to allege or declare falsely or with intent to deceive.

a. transitive. With clause as object.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > statement > assertion without proof > [verb (transitive)] > with intent to deceive

pretend1395

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > false assertion > assert falsely [verb (transitive)]

feigna1300

liea1300

pretend1395

belie1561

misallege1566

pretence1567

perjurea1586

soothe1591

falsify1606

mislaya1626

misaffirma1631

Remonstr. against Romish Corruptions (Titus) (1851) 59 A! hou greet abhominacioun it is to se almost the grettest lord of the world..to pretende and crie opinli..that so greet a lord..hath power grauntid of the bisshop of Rome..to forbede massis.

a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 183 Þei took þe schip be treson, pretendyng þat þei were oure frendis.

1583 P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses sig. Gvii^v (margin) Vain and vngodly reasons pretending that whordome is no sinne.

1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 362 Pretending that he was sickly.

1693 J. Dryden in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires i. Notes 15 Noblemen wou'd cause empty Litters to be carried to the Giver's Door, pretending their Wives were within them.

1700 Moxon's Mech. Exercises: Bricklayers-wks. 19 By this construction he pretends..that..this charge, or weight, will be stopped, or stayed by the Inverse Arches.

1763 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting III. App. sig. Qq2^v It is pretended that to satisfy their natural impatience, he formed a hasty manner that prejudiced his works and reputation.

1804 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 12 537 [This] induced practitioners to suppose, or to pretend, that the small-pox sometimes degenerates into the chicken-pox.

1839 T. Keightley Hist. Eng. II. 26 A monk wrote a letter in golden characters which she was to pretend had been given her by Mary Magdalen.

1891 G. B. Shaw Quintessence of Ibsenism v. 123 If I were to pretend that Scott wrote The Heart of Midlothian to shew that people are led to do..mischievous..things [etc.].

1925 V. Woolf Mrs. Dalloway 187 They turned her out because she would not pretend that the Germans were all villains.

1948 Life 6 Sept. 92/2 Our official propagandists were pretending that the Soviet Union was a ‘peace-loving democracy’.

1994 Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) 29 Dec. 14/4 There's a market out there for..cop-killer bullets and not just among the ‘right people’ Keen pretends would be their only possessors.

†b. transitive. With simple object. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > statement > assertion without proof > [verb (transitive)]

ledgea1300

vouch1390

allege?a1400

suppose1411

pretendc1449

to-layc1450

reckonc1480

compare1536

obtend1573

make1593

represent1651

to trump up1697

c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 463 (MED) And if he can proue what he pretendith, he schal be suffrid to reioice his opinioun.

1587 W. Harrison Descr. Eng. (1877) ii. v. i. 128 Monie haue a cote and armes bestowed vpon him by heralds (who in the charter of the same doo of custome pretend antiquitie and seruice, and manie gaie things).

1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ix. 190 What ever was pretended to the contrary, England at that time flourished with able Ministers more then ever before.

1668 M. Hale Pref. Rolle's Abridgm. b j b Men not much acquainted with the study..pretend two great prejudices and exceptions against the study of the Common-Law.

1710 G. Berkeley Treat. Princ. Human Knowl. §52 To pretend difficulties and inconsistencies.

1835 Times 7 July 5/2 Whatever may be pretended to the contrary, the feelings of the American people..are strongly inclined to peace.

1873 H. Rogers Superhuman Origin Bible (1875) App. 438 In any ‘type’ it is only analogical resemblance that is pretended.

c. transitive (in passive). With infinitive or complement.

ΚΠ

1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. C2 Those particular seducements or indispositions of the minde for policie and gouernement, which learning is pretended to insinuate.

1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 87 No crueltie or sacriledge against God, or man, so irreligious..but Religion was pretended to be the cause, and bare the Standard to Destruction.

1639 G. Digby in G. Digby & K. Digby Lett. conc. Relig. (1651) 108 The precedency..is pretended due upon another ground also.

1658 J. Bramhall Consecration Protestant Bishops Justified i. 7 He might heare many things..from the persons prætended to have bene then consecrated.

1694 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding (new ed.) ii. xxviii. 193 Vertue and Vice are names pretended, and supposed every where to stand for actions in their own nature right and wrong.

1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. xii. 260 These rocks..are, by the help of a little imagination, pretended to resemble the form of a cross.

1781 S. Peters Gen. Hist. Connecticut 22 I will now consider the right they are pretended to have acquired after possession.

1818 T. Jefferson Anas Pref. 4 Feb. in Writings (1903) I. 273 This money, whether wisely or foolishly spent, was pretended to have been spent for general purposes.

1844 A. C. Morey Charlotte Corday Introd. 4 It was by the consent of the majority simply, that the self-styled People's constitution was pretended to have been established.

1901 Times 16 May 6/4 We make this announcement with the deepest pain and regret, especially in view of the circumstances under which the money was pretended to have been given.

1946 M. Summers Witchcraft & Black Magic v. 133 The Grimoire of Pope Honorius is pretended to be found in manuscript as early as the thirteenth century.

1996 P. Lamarque Fictional Points of View xii. 200 The eliciting of a complex imaginative response whereby the speech acts are pretended to be as they seem to be.., even in the knowledge that they are not.

†2.

a. transitive. To offer, present, or put forward for consideration, acceptance, action, etc.; to bring (a charge or action at law). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > giving > offer or action of offering > offer [verb (transitive)]

i-bedea800

bidOE

make?a1160

forthc1200

bihedec1275

proffera1325

yielda1382

dressc1384

to serve fortha1393

dight1393

pretend1398

nurnc1400

offerc1425

profita1450

tent1459

tend1475

exhibit1490

propine1512

presentc1515

oblate1548

pretence1548

defer?1551

to hold forth1560

prefer1567

delatea1575

to give forth1584

tender1587

oppose1598

to hold out1611

shore1787

society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > charge, accuse, or indict [verb (transitive)] > bring (a charge or accusation)

bringc1000

presenta1325

pretend1398

labour1439

pursue1530–1

subsume1601

1398 in J. Slater Early Scots Texts (Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Edinb.) (1952) No. 39 Thai..war & ar frely deliueryt nocht agaynstandand the accusacioun pretendit agaynes thaim.

?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 98 (MED) Galien pretendeþ þis same cause.

a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 115 Lorde, what may I..riȝtwesly pretende [L. obtendere] ayenst þe if þou do not þat I aske?

1569 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1878) 1st Ser. II. 30 Without prejudice of the said Gilbertis actioun..that he may have, pretend, or move, aganis the airis.

1594 R. Carew tr. J. Huarte Exam. Mens Wits xii. 198 God..had pretended a remedie in that behalfe, which was..Manna.

a1627 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Changeling (1653) iv. sig. G To that wench I pretend honest love, and she deserves it.

1653 H. Holcroft tr. Procopius Gothick Warre ii. 55 in tr. Procopius Hist. Warres Justinian Women..offered their breasts; but the child would not take womans milk, neither would the Goat leave it; but importunatly..pretended to it her own. So that the women let it alone, and the Goat nursed it.

1690 W. Leybourn Cursus mathematicus 345 When there is an Aequation pretended like aa+ba+ca = −bc, present judgement may be made.

1722 Acct. of Method & Success of inoculating Small-pox 24 That God has decreed when, and how we shall dye, and for us to pretend a Remedy that won't fail to..secure us from Death by the Small Pox, is to take the Work of God out of his Hands.

b. transitive. To allege or put forward (a thing) as a reason or excuse; to use as a pretext. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > motivation > motivate [verb (transitive)] > serve as a motive for > use as a pretext for > use as a pretext

pretendc1485

portenda1500

pretex1545

pretext1749

c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 179 The resoun yat thai pretend is this.

?1533 W. Tyndale Expos. Mathew vi. f. lxxviij Hyrelynges will prætende their worke and saye: ‘I haue deserued it. I haue done so moche and so moche, and my laboure is worth it’.

1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cccxxxix^v Thou canst not hereafter pretend y^e name of the Turkishe warre.

1600 E. Blount tr. G. F. di Conestaggio Hist. Uniting Portugall to Castill 27 At this time the Irishmen rebelled..pretending the libertie of Religion.

1654 T. Gataker Disc. Apol. 54 When I pretended mine unfitnes for such a place and imployment.

1658 R. Allestree Pract. Christian Graces; or, Whole Duty of Man xiv. §5. 280 We must..not pretend conscience for a cloak of stubbornness.

a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 587 The only excuse that was ever pretended for this infamous prosecution was [etc.].

1776 T. Jefferson Writings (1892) I. 47 Speak in honest language and say the minority will be in danger from the majority. And is there an assembly on earth where this danger may not be equally pretended?

c. intransitive. With to: to make claims on behalf of; to support the claims of. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > support or encouragement > support or encourage [verb (intransitive)] > speak in support of

advocacier1502

advocate1607

say1609

pretend1650

1650 T. Vaughan Anthroposophia Theomagica 19 I know the Peripateticks pretend to four, and with the help of their Masters Quintessence to a fift Principle.

1659 B. Walton Considerator Considered 8 Witness a late Pamphlet, pretending to the integrity and purity of the Hebrew and Greek Text.

1670 E. Borlase Latham Spaw Ep. Ded. I know, Medicinal Springs were never more pretended to than of late.

a. transitive. To lay claim to or profess to have (a quality, state, etc.). Now only: to lay false claim to, affect, feign, or put on (a quality, state, etc.).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > statement > assertion without proof > [verb (transitive)] > claim, maintain, or profess

to bear (a person or thing) in (also an, a, on) handc1300

pretend1402

presumea1470

profess1530

vendicate1557

pretence1567

intend1570

to show for ——1573

affect1606

to make out1659

purport1679

proport1884

society > morality > dueness or propriety > [verb (transitive)] > claim > claim to have

claima1400

pretend1402

pretentc1425

to set up for1698

the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > tendency > tend or incline [verb (intransitive)] > be conducive or tend to an end

pretend1402

stretchc1412

conduct1481

to conduce to1586

terminate1587

shapea1616

determine1651

minister1696

tend1936

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > pretend, simulate, feign [verb (transitive)]

mitheeOE

bipechec1000

huec1000

feigna1300

unlikena1382

counterfeitc1400

pretend1402

dissimulec1430

dissimule1483

simule?a1500

semble1530

counterfeit1534

dissemblea1538

suppose1566

countenance1590

mock1595

assume1604

to put on1625

assimulate1630

personate1631

to take on1645

simulate1652

forge1752

sham1775

possum1850

to turn on1865

fake1889

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > an omen, sign, portent > portend, betoken [verb (transitive)]

betokenc1275

bode1387

prognostica1400

pretend1402

prognosticate?a1425

ossc1450

importc1487

prognostify1495

protendc1554

presage1562

abode1573

boden1573

denounce1581

importune1590

prejudicate1595

foretoken1598

ominate1598

auspicate1604

divine1607

foredeem1612

warranta1616

augur1630

preaugurate1635

prewarna1637

prenote1641

preominate1646

forespeak1667

omen1697

betidea1799

bespeak1851

the mind > language > statement > assertion without proof > [verb (transitive)] > claim, maintain, or profess > to have

pretend1402

1402 Reply Friar Daw Topias in T. Wright Polit. Poems & Songs (1861) II. 55 Anticristis menye..pretenden first mekenesse of herte.

c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. 3526 (MED) Ful glad and liȝt Medea doun descendeth..& outwarde pretendeth Sadnes of chere.

1563–4 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 256 Nane of his liegis pretend ignorance heirin.

1630 P. Massinger Picture sig. K2 That comfort which The damnd pretend, fellowes in misery.

1654 T. Fuller 2 Serm. 37 Leastwise they seemingly pretended it [sc. real piety] and Joshua charitably beleeved it.

1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. vi. 216 Those ignorant Men, who pretend not any insight into the real Essences.

1743 S. Johnson Deb. Senate Lilliput in Gentleman's Mag. Jan. 11 I do not pretend any other Skill in military Affairs, than may be gained by casual Conversation with Soldiers.

1789 tr. Cálidás Sacontalá iii. 62 Sacontalá (pretending anger, aside to Priyamvadá) Be quiet, thou mischief-making girl!

1840 Times 29 Dec. 5/2 The difficulties that belong to the subject are, after all, to be found more in the forms in which it has been invested by pretending ignorance than in its essential characteristics.

1886 R. F. Burton tr. Arabian Nights' Entertainm. IX. cmxxxvi. 154 He went on to pretend penitence, beating hand upon hand.

1914 E. R. Burroughs Tarzan of Apes xxv. 338 How could she have pretended love, and raised him to such a pinnacle of hope only to cast him down to such utter depths of despair!

1968 A. K. Armah Beautyful Ones are not yet Born xi. 167 The man closed his eyes, pretending sleep.

1982 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Jrnl. 10 Sept. 1/4 ‘When I'm outside and playing, they all come running to me because it means I'm going for a walk,’ she says, pretending anger at her fickle furry fans.

2003 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 20 Oct. 15 There is an obvious tackiness about a multi-millionaire from the richest country in the world, pretending poverty.

b. intransitive. With to (also †till): to lay claim to, profess to have, or affect (a quality, ability, etc.).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > statement > assertion without proof > [verb (intransitive)] > claim, maintain, or profess

pretend1494

to make for ——c1522

bear1641

1494 Loutfut MS f. 10, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (at cited word) Til a counsal quhar thai saw nan pretendit til mair hie autorite na ane othir.

a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Trial of Fox l. 935 in Poems (1981) 39 Se nane pretend to pryde in my presence.

1659 H. Hammond Paraphr. & Annot. Psalms (xviii. 20 Annot.) 100/2 What is here meant by the cleannesse of Davids hands, to which he here pretends.

a1674 Earl of Clarendon Brief View Leviathan (1676) 320 Lamented by all men living who pretended to Virtue.

1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 51. ⁋2 Persons who cannot pretend to that Delicacy and Modesty, of which she is Mistress.

1739 tr. C. Rollin Anc. Hist. (ed. 2) V. 287 Each party pretended to the victory.

1769 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) I. xvi. 110 The ministry have not yet pretended to such a tyranny over our minds.

1816 J. Austen Emma I. 75 I only name possibilities. I do not pretend to Emma's genius for foretelling and guessing.

1852 S. J. B. Hale Northwood v. 47 Yankee farmers are the most slovenly people on earth that pretend to civilization.

1892 Harper's Mag. Apr. 757/1 Every town in Mexico that pretends to any rank at all has its annual feria, its great fair.

1942 E. Waugh Put out More Flags i. 11 Barbara herself pretended to no illusions about Basil.

1985 A. N. Wilson Gentlemen in Eng. (1986) iv. 81 Mark Pattison, the old Rector of Lincoln, who pretended to no Christian faith whatever.

2001 Times (Nexis) 28 May Much comedy stems from the pricking of pretentious dignity. The more dignity you pretend to, the richer the scope for the basely comic.

†4.

a. transitive. To profess or claim to have (an authority, power, right, title, etc.). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > dueness or propriety > [verb (transitive)] > claim > claim to have

claima1400

pretend1402

pretentc1425

to set up for1698

1402 Dundee Charters (1880) 18 Allegant and pretendant a speciale fredome.

c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 1666 (MED) For I merueile how þou art so bolde..for Priam so proudly to pretende A maner title.

1469 A. Scales in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 571 My lorde of Norffolk pretendeth title to certeyn londys of Ser John Pastons.

1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Surueyeng xi. f. 17^v Where a man pretendeth a tytle, and after releseth in the court.

1589 in W. Macleod Family Papers Dundas (1897) No. 27 Pretendant our name to cloik thair unlauchfull doingis.

1630 in R. S. France Thieveley Lead Mines (1951) 107 Unto Godfrey Marcer..the surveyor paid part of the money due for the oare hee pretendes title unto.

1658 J. Bramhall Consecration Protestant Bishops Justified vi. 133 Where the Bishop of London never pretended any Iurisdiction.

1667 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 44 Notwithstanding any priviledge hee may pretend as being our servant.

1701 Disc. Species, Order & Govt. Christian Churches 127 The Church of Scotland..did renounce all degress of Subjection to the Church of England, or Geneva either; and when Episcopal, it was no less Independent, nor did the Church of England pretend any Jurisdiction over it.

1784 W. Cowper Let. 11 Dec. (1981) II. 309 Its right being at least so far a good one, that no word in the language could pretend a better.

b. transitive. With infinitive as object: to claim the right (to do something). Also occasionally with clause as object. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > dueness or propriety > [verb (transitive)] > claim

challengea1240

claimc1320

pretend?a1425

vouch1488

to lay claim to1584

assert1649

vindicate1680

to take up1810

?a1425 (a1415) Lanterne of Liȝt (Harl.) (1917) 3 (MED) Art not þou þanne a wickid man..þat pretendist..to bynde & lose, to blesse & curse, biside þis name Iesu?

c1500 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Star Chamber (1903) I. 95 [Henry] Erle of Northumberland claymythe and pretendythe to haue the warde and mariage of your saide Oratoure.

c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) xvii. 116 Ve degraid the, fra the nobilite..that thou pretendit to succeid to, be the deceisse of thy fathere.

1654 tr. M. Martini Bellum Tartaricum 129 This Prince pretended that the K. called Lu. should yield up his right to him.

1686 F. Spence tr. A. Varillas Ἀνεκδοτα Ἑτερουιακα 36 The deputy of the Ruffians pretended to receive the full sum which his accomplices had agreed upon.

1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. I. ix. 204 As both the archbishops pretended to sit on his right hand, this question of precedency begat a controversy between them.

c. transitive. To lay claim to or claim ownership or possession of (a thing); to assert (a thing) as a right. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1430–1 Rolls of Parl. IV. 376/2 Alle ye persones yat pretende any interresse to object ayens yat partie..that yei sue to the Ordinarie.

1495 Rolls of Parl. VI. 489/1 That your said Oratour may have..the said Manours..ayenst..all other persones and their heyres, havyng, claymyng or pretendyng any thing therin.

1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 39 He hath no reason to pretend the Diamond.

1680 R. Morden Geogr. Rectified (1685) 427 At this day the Hollanders pretend all Trade at Japan.

1693 J. Evelyn tr. J. de La Quintinie Compl. Gard'ner i. iii. 70 The Peach-tree might well pretend a place there, for the Excellency of its good Fruit.

1755 N. Magens Ess. Insurances II. 165 Seamen taken and made Slaves shall not pretend any thing for their Ransom, either of the Master, Owners or Freighters.

d. intransitive. To lay claim to a right to or share of something. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1619 Edinb. Test. L. f. 255^v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (at cited word) Guidis and geir..that..all vtheris executouris kyn and alya may pretend to.

1647 J. Brinsley Stand Still 101 Should God alwayes take the creature along with him, and make it a sharer or partner in the worke, happily it would be ready to steppe in, and pretend to a share in the Honour.

1684 Bp. G. Burnet tr. T. More Utopia 157 Yet [they] pretended to no share of the spoil.

1705 J. Law Money & Trade Considered 58 So long as they who did Subscribe can support the Bank upon the Terms of the Act of Parliament, none will pretend to any share in it.

1777 tr. J.-F. Marmontel Incas II. 261 Be extremely cautious how you mention to him either your favours, or his promises; be cautious how you pretend to a share of the gold accumulating for him.

†5.

a. transitive (reflexive). With infinitive, noun, adjective, or phrase as complement: to represent oneself as ——; to claim or profess to be ——. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > statement > assertion without proof > [verb (reflexive)] > claim, maintain, or profess

sayOE

showc1175

make?c1225

pretend1415

support?1471

1415 T. Hoccleve Addr. to Sir John Oldcastle l. 77 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 11 Thow art vnwys, thogh thow thee wys pretende.

a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 885 He þat pretendiþ him of most nobley.

c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 53^v (MED) He pretendiþ him to be holy and coueitiþ to be religious.

1568 (a1508) W. Kennedy Flyting (Bannatyne) in Poems W. Dunbar (1998) I. 201 Pretendand the to wryte sic skaldit skrowis.

c1626 H. Bisset Rolment Courtis (1922) II. 185 Johnne Balyoll usurpare pretendand him to be the..Scottis king began his pretendit regnne.

1660 T. Fuller Mixt Contempl. ii. xii. 60 Poor petty, pittifull Persons, who pretended themselves Princes.

1672 in J. A. Picton City of Liverpool: Select. Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 246 A paper or libell..pretending itselfe to be a remonstrance.

1744 E. F. Haywood Fortunate Foundlings xvi. 211 The detested artful count had pretended himself my husband.

1780 J. Murray Lawfulness of Self-defence 16 There is something exceedingly absurd in the conduct of those who pretend themselves to be Christians, and insist that others bearing the same character, should not enjoy the same privileges which they claim as their right.

1828 Times 26 Sept. 4/1 [They] gave been for some time in the daily habit of obtaining goods from the shopkeepers and merchants, pretending themselves messengers from Mr. O'Connell.

b. intransitive. With ellipsis of reflexive pronoun or infinitive. Obsolete. rare.

ΚΠ

1652 Severall Proc. Parl. No. 168. 2640 The Skiper pretends of Lubeck, but hath neither Bill of Lading nor letter.

1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 212 Wisest Men Have err'd, and by bad Women been deceiv'd; And shall again, pretend they ne're so wise.

†6.

a. intransitive. figurative. To tend to an end or point in action, speech, etc. Also: to extend in time. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > duration > have duration [verb (intransitive)] > grow longer or extend

longOE

reacha1325

lengthc1400

prolong1449

stretcha1616

pretend1655

to spin out1720

a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) iv. 922 For to what fyn he wolde anon pretende, Þat knowe ich wel.

?1520 A. Barclay tr. Sallust Cron. Warre agaynst Iugurth xxxix. f. 54 The wordes and counsell of the enchauntour and preest whiche behelde his sacrifyce pretended to the same poynte and conclusion as the desyre of his mynde moued hym longe before.

1655 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. I. iii. 2 None of his Arguments pretend beyond Meton's time.

1657 Bp. J. Taylor Coll. Polemical Disc. (1674) Ep. Ded. I find by experience that we cannot acquire that end which is pretended to by such addresses.

b. intransitive. To stretch or reach forward; to move or go forward; to direct one's course; to tend. Usually with to or for. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > relate or connect [verb (intransitive)]

belong1340

pertaina1382

pretend1481

appertaina1500

link?1544

touch?1611

relate1646

rapport1649

connect1709

to tie in1938

to tie up1959

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > forward movement > move forward or advance [verb (intransitive)]

wadeOE

agoOE

forthganga1000

forthgoOE

syeOE

kenc1275

to-stepc1275

vaunce1303

forthnima1325

passc1330

throc1330

forthpass1382

to pass forthc1384

to carry forthc1390

proceedc1392

to go alongc1400

to be forthwardc1430

get) groundc1436

to set onc1450

avauntc1460

pretend1481

to make way1490

advance?1507

to get forward1523

promove1570

to rid ground (also space)1572

to rid (the) way1581

progressa1586

to gather grounda1593

to make forth1594

to make on1597

to work up1603

perge1607

to work one's (also its) way1609

to pass on1611

to gain ground1625

to make its way1645

vadea1660

propagate1700

to gain one's way1777

further1789

to pull up1829

on1840

to make (up) ground1921

society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > direct (one's course, steps, etc.) [verb (transitive)] > be bound for or head for

drawc1275

to-hieldc1275

roama1375

pretend1481

pursue1488

to make forth1508

to be in gate to1548

to make to ——a1568

to make unto ——1593

to be for1606

to set one's face for (from, to, towards)1611

steer1667

head1880

the world > space > distance > nearness > be near to [verb (transitive)] > be in contact with > extend so far as to touch > with the hand or something held

reacha1400

raught1571

pretend1650

1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde iii. xv. 168 Who pretendeth to god, God attendeth to hym.

?c1500 Mary Magdalene (Digby) 1076 I wyll pretende To stey to my father.

?c1500 Mary Magdalene (Digby) 2073 On-to my sell I woll pretend. [stage direct. Her xall þe prest go to his selle.]

1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer i. f. cccxxvi^v It maketh me backwarde to meue, whan my steppes by comune course euen forthe pretende.

1633 T. Adams Comm. 2 Peter (ii. 20) 1030 Though wee pretend for heaven, yet still we beare about us a tang of our native countrey.

1650 W. Brough Sacred Princ. 34 Suffer none..to pull downe thy Throne, whilst they pretend for thy Scepter.

c. transitive. To hold out or extend in front of or over a person or thing, esp. as a covering or defence. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > extension in space > extend [verb (transitive)] > spread (something) out or open > before or over

pretend1578

1578 J. Banister Hist. Man Li The head [of Tibia] is thicke, round and ouercrusted with a cartilage, hauyng the neck therof, which is lo[n]g, much inwardly prete [n] ded.

1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene vi. xi. sig. Ii2 But Pastorella..Was by the Captaine all this while defended, Who..His target alwayes ouer her pretended .

1658 J. Evelyn tr. N. de Bonnefons French Gardiner 145 They may pretend them [sc. bells of earth over plants] for the night onely and to pervent hayl.

1670 H. Stubbe Plus Ultra 146 There was an opacous, dark red setling, with an enaeorema of contexed filaments pretended to the top.

†7. transitive. To indicate, mean, signify. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > drift, tenor, purport > purport [verb (transitive)]

proport1387

purport1389

pretend?a1425

import1425

preport1616

?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 121 To tineam folweth multiplicacioun of pediculez, & mltitude [read multitude] of pediculez pretendeþ [?c1425 Paris scheweþ; L. pretendit] lepre, and so tinea is a maner of lepre.

c1450 (?c1408) J. Lydgate Reson & Sensuallyte (1901) 4977 (MED) And eche of hem..Pretendede in signifiaunce, By there chere, grete displesaunce.

a1530 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfeccyon (1531) iii. f. Clxxxi That her name pretendeth, in that she is called maria, that is, the sterre of y^e see.

1588 W. Lambarde Eirenarcha (new ed.) iv. iii. 395 These men be not truly Iurors, till they be sworne, as their name pretendeth.

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 459 Although the curling of his haire be a token of sluggish timidity, yet if the haire bee long and curled at the top onely, it pretendeth generous animosity.

1639 J. Shirley Ball iii. sig. F4 What pretends this to dance, theres something in't.

a. transitive. With infinitive as object. To claim, feign, or make oneself appear (to be or to do something).

ΚΠ

c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 26 Sche vn-to somme pretendeth to be trewe.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 665/2 He pretendith to be my frynde, but he doyth the worst for me that he can.

1589 R. Lane in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations iii. 740 This resolution of theirs did not a little please mee,..although..I pretended to haue bene rather of the contrary opinion.

1638 W. Chillingworth Relig. Protestants i. i. §10. 37 I may, and doe believe them, as firmely as you pretend to do.

1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. J. Albert de Mandelslo 227 in Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors He will pretend not to have seen him.

1710 J. Swift Tale of Tub (ed. 5) Apol. sig. A4^v Dryden, L'Estrange..pretended to be Sufferers for Loyalty and Religion.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones I. ii. vi. 123 He was ignorant, or at least pretended to be so.

1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho III. vi. 152 The people pretend to know nothing about any prisoners.

1811 J. Austen Sense & Sensibility I. iv. 49 Mrs. Dashwood could neither pretend to be unconscious, nor endeavour to be calm.

1847 A. Helps Friends in Council I. 10 Pretending to agree with the world when you do not.

1891 W. Morris News from Nowhere vi. 43 They were always pretending to be offended at anything you said or did to them.

1910 H. H. Richardson Getting of Wisdom xiv. 140 Ramming his knuckles into his eyes, he pretended to cry at his daughter's rebuke.

1959 S. Gibbons Pink Front Door xviii. 222 Such a gentleman..always pretended not to see you if he met you coming out of the toilet.

2002 El Paso (Texas) Times (Nexis) 2 Oct. 6 b I gave them gum, took their pictures, told awful jokes they pretended to laugh at and drove back to my world.

b. intransitive. To make pretence; to engage in make-believe or simulation; to feign.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > pretend, dissemble [verb (intransitive)]

letc1000

faitc1330

counterfeitc1374

dissimulec1374

feignc1400

showc1405

supposea1450

fare1483

simule?a1500

dissemble1523

pretend1526

frame1545

cloakc1572

jouk1573

pretent1582

disguisea1586

devise1600

semble1603

coin1607

insimulate1623

fox1646

sham1787

dissimulate1796

gammon1819

to let on1822

simulate1823

possum1832

simulacrize1845

to put on an act1929

to put on (also up) a show1937

prat1967

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. BBvi Pretendyng & shewyng outwardly, as though it were of very mekenesse, but it is of false mekenes.

1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cxxv^v The byshop nowe pretendeth as though he would calle a counsel.

c1640 E. Waller À la Malade 6 Had the rich gifts, conferred on you So amply thence, the common end Of giving lovers—to pretend?

1734 H. Fielding Don Quixote in Eng. iii. xv. 62 Pretend Madness! give me leave to tell you, Mr. Brief, I am not to be pretended with.

1780 W. Cowper Progress of Error 15 Weak to perform, though mighty to pretend.

1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xliv. 436 ‘He's dying’—‘He isn't, he's only pretending.’

1894 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Ebb-tide i. v. 96 I never could act up to the plain-cut truth, you see; so I pretend.

1924 Iowa City (Iowa) Press-citizen 14 Apr. 2/3 I've been pretending about Florence ever since she was fifteen years old and I'm not going to pretend any more.

1955 Herald-Press (St. Joseph, Mich.) 3 Mar. 2/6 Stop pretending and go to work.

2005 Guardian (Nexis) 3 Dec. 52 I'm not quitting at all. I was only pretending.

c. transitive. With infinitive or clause as object: to feign or simulate in play, to make playful pretence; to imagine oneself to be; to make-believe that.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > mental image, idea, or fancy > give mental shape to [verb (transitive)] > in play

pretend1865

1865 ‘L. Carroll’ Alice's Adventures in Wonderland i. 13 This curious child was very fond of pretending to be two people.

1871 ‘L. Carroll’ Through Looking-glass i. 8 ‘Let's pretend we're kings and queens’... ‘Nurse! do let's pretend that I'm a hungry hyæna, and you're a bone!’

1891 E. Kinglake Austral. at Home 20 The boys used to pretend that they were a court of justice, and appoint a judge, jury [etc.].

1914 Times 6 Mar. 7/5 Even the pleasant music of his children, pretending to be a circus directly over his head, has been known to ruffle the devotee.

1926 Amer. Mercury Apr. 460/1 Sometimes we would climb into wagons and pretend that we were stagecoaching it through the Far West.

1946 W. Wolff Personality of Preschool Child i. i. 11 A 4-year-old child, pretending to be a ‘mother cat’.

1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day i. 22 I had fits of refusing food—a recalcitrance I could always be coaxed out of by my father's pretending I was a bear.

1988 L. Erdrich Tracks (1989) vii. 170 Your mother had played this with you before, curled her fingers in claws, pretended to be a dangerous rugaroo.

2005 Toronto Sun (Nexis) 1 May 33 My Mom used to pretend to be a monster called ‘The Zombie’ that spoke in its own jibberish language.

d. intransitive. To make-believe in imagination or play. See also let's pretend n.

ΚΠ

1893 F. H. Burnett One I knew Best xiv So she wandered about in a dream—‘pretending’. That changed it all. The heaps of earth and rubbish were mounds of flowers [etc.].

1923 Times 2 Oct. 13/5 Children..will admit that they are too old to believe that he [sc. Father Christmas] really and truly exists; But why should anybody go out of his way to say that he does not? Now that the brutal word has escaped the barrier of grown-up lips, they feel it is not worth while to go on pretending any longer.

1964 Tri-city Herald (Pasco, Washington) 1 Nov. (Family Weekly section) 15/2 He's just pretending, isn't he, Daddy?

2005 Copley News Service (Nexis) 23 Oct. Children can know they are pretending, but be quite unsure about whether the costumed child coming toward them is also pretending or is as the disguise suggests.

†9. transitive. To foretell, portend, prefigure. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prefiguration > prefigure [verb (transitive)]

forecomea1300

to say beforec1384

signifyc1384

pretendc1425

prefigurec1429

preostendc1429

prefigurate1530

adumbrate1537

promise1556

premonstrate1562

foresignify1565

presignify1570

shadow1574

foreshadow1577

presage1583

fore-run1590

presign1590

fore-read1591

figure1595

type forth, out1596

fore-point1601

foreshow1601

prophesy1608

foretella1616

foretypea1618

forebode1656

harbingera1657

pretypify1658

pretype1659

forespeak1667

to figure out1721

forecast1883

favour1887

precourse1888

precursea1892

c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iii. 4953 (MED) No discrecioun Was to trest in swiche fantasies In dremys shewid..Al-be it so þat peples rude Þer-in som while han affeccioun To Iuge..Diuersly what þei may pretende, And ofte falle..as þei wende.

c1425 Bk. Found. St. Bartholomew's (1923) 38 (MED) All the elementys pretendid to the wrecchid shipmene deith.

a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) i. vii. sig. c.iii^v It pretended by all reasone Synguler grace and goodnes, to her comynge soone.

a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid x. v. 147 The sing Pretendand tyll all mortale folk,..Contagyus infirmyteis and seyknes.

1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. lxiij^v The signes and wounders that are seene in all places, doe pretende no good.

1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. 218 Which the standers by..said did pretend some such accident unto the elder of the two Consuls.

1634 R. H. tr. Regim. Salerni 16 Overmuch repleation pretendith strangling or suddaine death.

†10. To intend, plan.

a. transitive. With infinitive as object. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

a1450 York Plays (1885) 242 (MED) Þes Jewes..pretende me to take With-outen any trespasse.

?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 362 (MED) And now oure Ioye, thy moder, to take thou pretendist.

1512 Helyas in W. J. Thoms Coll. Early Prose Romances (1828) III. 126 Never..shall I departe fro this regyon where as I pretende to save my soule.

a1560 W. Kennedy Passion of Christ (S.T.S.) 1704 That he pretend and he haue tyme..Off his synnis to mak confessioun.

1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies i. xvii. 58 They shall stray wonderfully in their course, and arrive in another place then where they pretended to go.

1665 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 1 99 He pretends to make a visit into England with some of his Pieces.

1708 Boston News-let. 4 Oct. 4/2 The Privateer of Port-Royal of 20 Guns is come this way, and pretends to fight our Gally, and Monsieur Supercass has promised them 2000 Crowns if they bring her in.

1728 J. Morgan Compl. Hist. Algiers I. iii. 237 The Christians,..out of whose Hands he pretended to wrest some Place of Strength, wherein to fortify himself.

b. transitive. With clause as object. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > intention > intend [verb (transitive)]

willeOE

meaneOE

minteOE

i-muntec1000

thinkOE

ettlea1200

intenta1300

meanc1330

forn-castc1374

intendc1374

ettlea1400

drive1425

proposec1425

purpose1433

attend1455

suppose1474

pretend1477

mindc1478

minda1513

pretence1565

appurpose1569

to drive at ——1574

thought to1578

hight1579

pretent1587

fore-intend1622

pre-intend1647

design1655

study1663

contemplate1794

purport1803

1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 39 Pretending that men shold speke of his faytes and vailliaunces.

1612 J. Davies Discouerie Causes Ireland 112 To make a perpetuall separation and enmity betweene the English and the Irish; pretending..that the English should in the end roote out the Irish.

1728 J. Morgan Compl. Hist. Algiers I. v. 298 We pretend, that this City, already famous for the Defeat of two of your Armadas, shall become far more so by the Disgrace of this your third.

c. transitive. With simple object. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 149 (MED) All oþir askiþ & sekiþ her ovne comodites; þou pretendist [L. prætendis] allone myn helþe & my profityng.

1543 ( Chron. J. Hardyng (1812) 316 Flekes..ouer the mosse..He layde anon, with fagottes..There gate awaye [= going away] and passage to pretende.

1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 40^v Y^e women when they be most pleasaunt, pretend most trecherie.

1587 G. Turberville Tragicall Tales f. 38^v One that did pretend the spoyle, and slaughter of her sonne.

1633 T. Stafford Pacata Hibernia i. v. 40 I am given to understand that they pretend a journey towards the Countie of Limerick.

1840 R. H. Barham Mr. Barney Maguire's Acct. in Ingoldsby Legends 1st Ser. 292 And now I've ended, what I pretended, This narration splendid in swate poe-thry.

†11. intransitive. To pertain. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > relevance or pertinence > [verb (intransitive)]

belimpOE

beholda1067

belielOE

pertaina1325

pendc1330

appendc1386

appertainc1386

holdc1430

pretenda1470

recorda1500

depend1525

extenda1533

inherea1628

to make to ——1645

apply1741

a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 41 They furnysshed..hem of good men..and of all manner of ablemente that pretendith to warre [1529 ordynaunce that belongeth to warre].

12.

†a. intransitive. To aspire; to have pretensions. Chiefly with to. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > hope > aspiration, ambition > aspire to [verb (transitive)]

pretend1481

to fawn upon1634

1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde i. xiv. 45 Some pretende to hye estates & grete richesses, & other ben content with lytil estate.

a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 559 Shir knycht, your lorde wondir hie pretendis, When he to me sic salutatioune sendis.

?a1600 ( R. Sempill Legend Bischop St. Androis in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xlv. 357 To heich promotione he pretendit.

1633 G. Herbert Temple: Sacred Poems 86 When that my friend pretendeth to a place, I quit my interest, and leave it free.

1672 Sir C. Lyttelton in E. M. Thompson Corr. Family of Hatton (1878) I. 100 My L^d Fanshaw was disapointed of his desire to goe to Constantinople, having long pretended to it.

1705 Boston News-let. 12 Nov. 2/1 It may be some will not count it remarkable, that there should be Bad people among the Quakers..who do not pretend unto their Spirit of discerning.

b. transitive. With infinitive as object. To aspire, presume; to venture; to try, attempt. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > endeavour > make an attempt or endeavour [verb (intransitive)] > to do something

cuneOE

seekc1000

fanda1225

suec1325

tastec1330

enforcec1340

study1340

temptc1384

intendc1385

assaila1393

proffera1393

to make meansc1395

search?a1400

fraistc1400

pursuec1400

to go aboutc1405

pretend1482

attempta1513

essay?1515

attend1523

regarda1533

offer1541

frame1545

to stand about1549

to put into (also in) practice1592

prove1612

imitate1626

snap1766

begin1833

make1880

the world > action or operation > undertaking > undertake [verb (transitive)] > without authority

presumec1390

pretend1711

1482 Monk of Evesham 45 The deuyls..whyche pretendyn by mony weys of reson to haue her to hem.

1550 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 84 In caise it sal happin ony army to pretend to invaid and persew the said fort.

1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies i. xiii. 43 Whether King Iosaphats fleete, pretending to go, did suffer ship~wracke.

1653 Strathbogie Presb. Bk. (1843) 235 Only tuo [persons] praetended to be married by the said Gilles.

1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 128. ¶1 Whether..there may not be a kind of Sex in the very Soul, I shall not pretend to determine.

1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 142 The People offered to fire at them if they pretended to go forward.

1855 A. Bain Senses & Intellect i. ii. 184 How many ultimate nerve fibres are contained in each unit nerve, we cannot pretend to guess.

1869 R. Browning Ring & Bk. IV. x. 77 Dost thou dare pretend to punish me, For not descrying sunshine at midnight?

a1895 T. C. Peter MS Coll. Cornish Words in Eng. Dial. Dict.: Suppl. (1905) 160/2 ‘Don't you pretend to get out whatever,’ i.e. get out of a carriage.

1933 Times 13 Feb. 19/5 It is difficult to forecast the feeling of Congress, and few pretend to guess the probable terms.

†c. intransitive. To pay court to (a prospective spouse); to seek to be married to (a person). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > seeking marriage > seek in marriage [verb (transitive)] > court or woo

wooc1290

court1580

suitc1586

accourt1590

sue1596

pretend1652

suitor1672

to make or pay (one's) court to1716

1652 J. Wright tr. J.-P. Camus Nature's Paradox iv. 82 In this..the Salvage Podolian had two ends; One, to hinder Liante from pretending to his Daughter.

1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 243 That..Step..lays her under the Foot of the Man she pretends to.

1774 C. Dibdin Deserter i. iv. 12 I can't pretend to such a good young man as you.

1796 R. Bage Hermsprong I. viii. 79 The young man,..not having advanced in effrontery so far as to pretend to a daughter of Mr. Sumelin, a 40,000 pounder, [etc.].

1854 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes I. xxiv. 227 His son might pretend surely to his kinswoman's hand.

1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. xxix. 322 I am not such a fool as to pretend to you now I am poor, and you have got altogether above me.

†13. intransitive. To form designs or plot against. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > intention > planning > plotting > plot [verb (intransitive)]

subtlec1300

conspire1393

compass1430

malign?a1439

contrivec1440

machine?c1450

forthink1494

pretenda1500

practise1537

pack1568

brigue1580

machinate1602

manage1603

plot1607

tamper1607

faction1609

collogue1646

intriguea1714

to lay a scheme1826

scheme1842

angle1892

wheel and deal1961

a1500 in Notes & Queries (1977) Dec. 486 (MED) Males agayne paciens þer ded pretende.

c1663 Hist. Estate Scotl. in D. Laing Misc. Wodrow Soc. (1844) 63 She said, That it wes against her authoritie that they pretended.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	pretend
释义	pretendn.adj. Brit. /prᵻˈtɛnd/, U.S. /priˈtɛnd/, /prəˈtɛnd/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: pretend v. Etymology: < pretend v. A. n. †1. (A) pretension. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > false assertion > [noun] > making of suggestionc1380 misallegingc1559 pretend1602 misrepresentation1641 fabrication1790 1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions 15 The honour of Priesthood doth [hinder] the vsurpate pretend of Iesuiticall esteeme. 1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions 314 This platforme doctrine and pretend of the Iesuits. 2. The action or an act of pretending in imagination or play; make-believe; something pretended. Frequently in (imitation of) children's use. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > mental image, idea, or fancy > [noun] > make-believe make-believe1794 pretence1862 make-believing1867 pretend1883 1883 Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern 15 Nov. Johnny You hate that dog, I know you do. Little Nell Oh that don't make any difference. It's all pretend, you know. 1888 F. H. Burnett Sara Crewe i. 28 One of her ‘pretends’ was that Emily was a kind of good witch, and could protect her. Poor little Sara! 1928 J. M. Barrie Peter Pan ii, in Plays 49 (stage direct.) Now that they know it is pretend they acclaim her greedily. 1944 W. H. Auden For Time Being 77 Love's will on earth may be, through you, No longer a pretend but true. 1965 G. McInnes Road to Gundagai iii. 54 ‘It's only pretend,’ she kept on saying. ‘You mustn't be afraid of pretend.’ 1989 E. Hoffman Lost in Transl. (1991) i. 29 I feel subtly cheated by Alice in Wonderland, because it is all pretend, a game, and of what interest is that? 2003 Post-Crescent (Appleton, Wisconsin) (Nexis) 14 Dec. 14 c The sweet six- and nine-year-olds play pretend together. B. adj. Designating something that is not really what it is represented as being; imaginary, imitative, make-believe, pretended. Chiefly attributive. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > mental image, idea, or fancy > [adjective] > only in imagination or unreal > make-believe pretending1434 pretend1708 make-believe1806 make-believing1867 make-belief1873 play-play1941 1708 J. M. Deane Jrnl. Campaign Flanders (1846) 3 There being a great Fleet of Ships of War well maned with seuerall Thousands of land Forces and Abundance of Spare Arms wth ye Pretend Prince of Wales..onboard. 1768 J. Cremer Jrnl. 19 July in R. R. Bellamy Ramblin' Jack (1936) 159 Irish Gentelmen are good, kind, huemain, worthy men, and not pretend gentelmen as are the generality of the Common Rambelers. 1905 F. H. Burnett Little Princess v. 64 Even if I am only a pretend princess, I can invent little things to do for people. a1936 R. Kipling Something of Myself (1937) i. 10 I have learned since from children who play much alone that this rule of ‘beginning again in a pretend game’ is not uncommon. 1950 Chron.-Telegram (Elyria, Ohio) 2 Aug. 24/4 This is just a pretend gun. 1962 J. L. Austin's Sense & Sensibilia vii. 72 The water in toy beer-bottles is not toy beer, but pretend beer. 1974 W. Rees-Mogg Reigning Error 109 Gold is real money and paper is pretend money. 1981 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 19 Oct. (Business section) 14 Fortunately, the decision is only pretend. 1996 Sunday Tel. 13 Oct. i. 39/6 The connection between pretend violence in films and on television and real killing on our streets. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). pretendv. Brit. /prᵻˈtɛnd/, U.S. /priˈtɛnd/, /prəˈtɛnd/ Forms: Middle English portendynge (present participle, transmission error), Middle English pretend (past participle), Middle English pretende (past tense), Middle English–1600s pretende, Middle English– pretend, 1500s praetende, 1500s–1600s praetend, 1900s– purtend (Irish English); Scottish pre-1700 praetend, pre-1700 pretend (past tense), pre-1700 pretende, pre-1700 1700s– pretend. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French pretendre; Latin praetendere. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman and Middle French pretendre, French prétendre to claim, demand (1320 in Old French), to assert, allege (c1380), to aspire to (1409), to feign (a1412 or earlier), to put forward as a pretext or reason (1470), to intend (a1475), to court (1638) and its etymon classical Latin praetendere to hold or stretch out, to extend in front, to put forward as a pretext or reason, to allege, to offer or show deceptively, to make a pretence of, to put forward a claim to, in post-classical Latin also to indicate, signify (from 6th cent. in British sources) < prae- pre- prefix + tendere tend v.² Compare Old Occitan pretendre (1397), Catalan pretendre (1393), Spanish pretender (c1255), Portuguese pretender (1493), Italian pretendere (14th cent.). 1. To put forward as an assertion or statement; to allege, assert, contend, claim, declare; esp. to allege or declare falsely or with intent to deceive. a. transitive. With clause as object. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > statement > assertion without proof > [verb (transitive)] > with intent to deceive pretend1395 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > false assertion > assert falsely [verb (transitive)] feigna1300 liea1300 pretend1395 belie1561 misallege1566 pretence1567 perjurea1586 soothe1591 falsify1606 mislaya1626 misaffirma1631 Remonstr. against Romish Corruptions (Titus) (1851) 59 A! hou greet abhominacioun it is to se almost the grettest lord of the world..to pretende and crie opinli..that so greet a lord..hath power grauntid of the bisshop of Rome..to forbede massis. a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 183 Þei took þe schip be treson, pretendyng þat þei were oure frendis. 1583 P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses sig. Gvii^v (margin) Vain and vngodly reasons pretending that whordome is no sinne. 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 362 Pretending that he was sickly. 1693 J. Dryden in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires i. Notes 15 Noblemen wou'd cause empty Litters to be carried to the Giver's Door, pretending their Wives were within them. 1700 Moxon's Mech. Exercises: Bricklayers-wks. 19 By this construction he pretends..that..this charge, or weight, will be stopped, or stayed by the Inverse Arches. 1763 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting III. App. sig. Qq2^v It is pretended that to satisfy their natural impatience, he formed a hasty manner that prejudiced his works and reputation. 1804 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 12 537 [This] induced practitioners to suppose, or to pretend, that the small-pox sometimes degenerates into the chicken-pox. 1839 T. Keightley Hist. Eng. II. 26 A monk wrote a letter in golden characters which she was to pretend had been given her by Mary Magdalen. 1891 G. B. Shaw Quintessence of Ibsenism v. 123 If I were to pretend that Scott wrote The Heart of Midlothian to shew that people are led to do..mischievous..things [etc.]. 1925 V. Woolf Mrs. Dalloway 187 They turned her out because she would not pretend that the Germans were all villains. 1948 Life 6 Sept. 92/2 Our official propagandists were pretending that the Soviet Union was a ‘peace-loving democracy’. 1994 Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) 29 Dec. 14/4 There's a market out there for..cop-killer bullets and not just among the ‘right people’ Keen pretends would be their only possessors. †b. transitive. With simple object. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > statement > assertion without proof > [verb (transitive)] ledgea1300 vouch1390 allege?a1400 suppose1411 pretendc1449 to-layc1450 reckonc1480 compare1536 obtend1573 make1593 represent1651 to trump up1697 c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 463 (MED) And if he can proue what he pretendith, he schal be suffrid to reioice his opinioun. 1587 W. Harrison Descr. Eng. (1877) ii. v. i. 128 Monie haue a cote and armes bestowed vpon him by heralds (who in the charter of the same doo of custome pretend antiquitie and seruice, and manie gaie things). 1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ix. 190 What ever was pretended to the contrary, England at that time flourished with able Ministers more then ever before. 1668 M. Hale Pref. Rolle's Abridgm. b j b Men not much acquainted with the study..pretend two great prejudices and exceptions against the study of the Common-Law. 1710 G. Berkeley Treat. Princ. Human Knowl. §52 To pretend difficulties and inconsistencies. 1835 Times 7 July 5/2 Whatever may be pretended to the contrary, the feelings of the American people..are strongly inclined to peace. 1873 H. Rogers Superhuman Origin Bible (1875) App. 438 In any ‘type’ it is only analogical resemblance that is pretended. c. transitive (in passive). With infinitive or complement. ΚΠ 1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. C2 Those particular seducements or indispositions of the minde for policie and gouernement, which learning is pretended to insinuate. View more context for this quotation 1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 87 No crueltie or sacriledge against God, or man, so irreligious..but Religion was pretended to be the cause, and bare the Standard to Destruction. 1639 G. Digby in G. Digby & K. Digby Lett. conc. Relig. (1651) 108 The precedency..is pretended due upon another ground also. 1658 J. Bramhall Consecration Protestant Bishops Justified i. 7 He might heare many things..from the persons prætended to have bene then consecrated. 1694 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding (new ed.) ii. xxviii. 193 Vertue and Vice are names pretended, and supposed every where to stand for actions in their own nature right and wrong. 1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. xii. 260 These rocks..are, by the help of a little imagination, pretended to resemble the form of a cross. 1781 S. Peters Gen. Hist. Connecticut 22 I will now consider the right they are pretended to have acquired after possession. 1818 T. Jefferson Anas Pref. 4 Feb. in Writings (1903) I. 273 This money, whether wisely or foolishly spent, was pretended to have been spent for general purposes. 1844 A. C. Morey Charlotte Corday Introd. 4 It was by the consent of the majority simply, that the self-styled People's constitution was pretended to have been established. 1901 Times 16 May 6/4 We make this announcement with the deepest pain and regret, especially in view of the circumstances under which the money was pretended to have been given. 1946 M. Summers Witchcraft & Black Magic v. 133 The Grimoire of Pope Honorius is pretended to be found in manuscript as early as the thirteenth century. 1996 P. Lamarque Fictional Points of View xii. 200 The eliciting of a complex imaginative response whereby the speech acts are pretended to be as they seem to be.., even in the knowledge that they are not. †2. a. transitive. To offer, present, or put forward for consideration, acceptance, action, etc.; to bring (a charge or action at law). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > giving > offer or action of offering > offer [verb (transitive)] i-bedea800 bidOE make?a1160 forthc1200 bihedec1275 proffera1325 yielda1382 dressc1384 to serve fortha1393 dight1393 pretend1398 nurnc1400 offerc1425 profita1450 tent1459 tend1475 exhibit1490 propine1512 presentc1515 oblate1548 pretence1548 defer?1551 to hold forth1560 prefer1567 delatea1575 to give forth1584 tender1587 oppose1598 to hold out1611 shore1787 society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > charge, accuse, or indict [verb (transitive)] > bring (a charge or accusation) bringc1000 presenta1325 pretend1398 labour1439 pursue1530–1 subsume1601 1398 in J. Slater Early Scots Texts (Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Edinb.) (1952) No. 39 Thai..war & ar frely deliueryt nocht agaynstandand the accusacioun pretendit agaynes thaim. ?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 98 (MED) Galien pretendeþ þis same cause. a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 115 Lorde, what may I..riȝtwesly pretende [L. obtendere] ayenst þe if þou do not þat I aske? 1569 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1878) 1st Ser. II. 30 Without prejudice of the said Gilbertis actioun..that he may have, pretend, or move, aganis the airis. 1594 R. Carew tr. J. Huarte Exam. Mens Wits xii. 198 God..had pretended a remedie in that behalfe, which was..Manna. a1627 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Changeling (1653) iv. sig. G To that wench I pretend honest love, and she deserves it. 1653 H. Holcroft tr. Procopius Gothick Warre ii. 55 in tr. Procopius Hist. Warres Justinian Women..offered their breasts; but the child would not take womans milk, neither would the Goat leave it; but importunatly..pretended to it her own. So that the women let it alone, and the Goat nursed it. 1690 W. Leybourn Cursus mathematicus 345 When there is an Aequation pretended like aa+ba+ca = −bc, present judgement may be made. 1722 Acct. of Method & Success of inoculating Small-pox 24 That God has decreed when, and how we shall dye, and for us to pretend a Remedy that won't fail to..secure us from Death by the Small Pox, is to take the Work of God out of his Hands. b. transitive. To allege or put forward (a thing) as a reason or excuse; to use as a pretext. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > motivation > motivate [verb (transitive)] > serve as a motive for > use as a pretext for > use as a pretext pretendc1485 portenda1500 pretex1545 pretext1749 c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 179 The resoun yat thai pretend is this. ?1533 W. Tyndale Expos. Mathew vi. f. lxxviij Hyrelynges will prætende their worke and saye: ‘I haue deserued it. I haue done so moche and so moche, and my laboure is worth it’. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cccxxxix^v Thou canst not hereafter pretend y^e name of the Turkishe warre. 1600 E. Blount tr. G. F. di Conestaggio Hist. Uniting Portugall to Castill 27 At this time the Irishmen rebelled..pretending the libertie of Religion. 1654 T. Gataker Disc. Apol. 54 When I pretended mine unfitnes for such a place and imployment. 1658 R. Allestree Pract. Christian Graces; or, Whole Duty of Man xiv. §5. 280 We must..not pretend conscience for a cloak of stubbornness. a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 587 The only excuse that was ever pretended for this infamous prosecution was [etc.]. 1776 T. Jefferson Writings (1892) I. 47 Speak in honest language and say the minority will be in danger from the majority. And is there an assembly on earth where this danger may not be equally pretended? c. intransitive. With to: to make claims on behalf of; to support the claims of. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > support or encouragement > support or encourage [verb (intransitive)] > speak in support of advocacier1502 advocate1607 say1609 pretend1650 1650 T. Vaughan Anthroposophia Theomagica 19 I know the Peripateticks pretend to four, and with the help of their Masters Quintessence to a fift Principle. 1659 B. Walton Considerator Considered 8 Witness a late Pamphlet, pretending to the integrity and purity of the Hebrew and Greek Text. 1670 E. Borlase Latham Spaw Ep. Ded. I know, Medicinal Springs were never more pretended to than of late. 3. a. transitive. To lay claim to or profess to have (a quality, state, etc.). Now only: to lay false claim to, affect, feign, or put on (a quality, state, etc.). ΘΚΠ the mind > language > statement > assertion without proof > [verb (transitive)] > claim, maintain, or profess to bear (a person or thing) in (also an, a, on) handc1300 pretend1402 presumea1470 profess1530 vendicate1557 pretence1567 intend1570 to show for ——1573 affect1606 to make out1659 purport1679 proport1884 society > morality > dueness or propriety > [verb (transitive)] > claim > claim to have claima1400 pretend1402 pretend1402 pretentc1425 to set up for1698 the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > tendency > tend or incline [verb (intransitive)] > be conducive or tend to an end pretend1402 stretchc1412 conduct1481 to conduce to1586 terminate1587 shapea1616 determine1651 minister1696 tend1936 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > pretend, simulate, feign [verb (transitive)] mitheeOE bipechec1000 huec1000 feigna1300 unlikena1382 counterfeitc1400 pretend1402 dissimulec1430 dissimule1483 simule?a1500 semble1530 counterfeit1534 dissemblea1538 suppose1566 countenance1590 mock1595 assume1604 to put on1625 assimulate1630 personate1631 to take on1645 simulate1652 forge1752 sham1775 possum1850 to turn on1865 fake1889 the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > an omen, sign, portent > portend, betoken [verb (transitive)] betokenc1275 bode1387 prognostica1400 pretend1402 prognosticate?a1425 ossc1450 importc1487 prognostify1495 protendc1554 presage1562 abode1573 boden1573 denounce1581 importune1590 prejudicate1595 foretoken1598 ominate1598 auspicate1604 divine1607 foredeem1612 warranta1616 augur1630 preaugurate1635 prewarna1637 prenote1641 preominate1646 forespeak1667 omen1697 betidea1799 bespeak1851 the mind > language > statement > assertion without proof > [verb (transitive)] > claim, maintain, or profess > to have pretend1402 1402 Reply Friar Daw Topias in T. Wright Polit. Poems & Songs (1861) II. 55 Anticristis menye..pretenden first mekenesse of herte. c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. 3526 (MED) Ful glad and liȝt Medea doun descendeth..& outwarde pretendeth Sadnes of chere. 1563–4 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 256 Nane of his liegis pretend ignorance heirin. 1630 P. Massinger Picture sig. K2 That comfort which The damnd pretend, fellowes in misery. 1654 T. Fuller 2 Serm. 37 Leastwise they seemingly pretended it [sc. real piety] and Joshua charitably beleeved it. 1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. vi. 216 Those ignorant Men, who pretend not any insight into the real Essences. 1743 S. Johnson Deb. Senate Lilliput in Gentleman's Mag. Jan. 11 I do not pretend any other Skill in military Affairs, than may be gained by casual Conversation with Soldiers. 1789 tr. Cálidás Sacontalá iii. 62 Sacontalá (pretending anger, aside to Priyamvadá) Be quiet, thou mischief-making girl! 1840 Times 29 Dec. 5/2 The difficulties that belong to the subject are, after all, to be found more in the forms in which it has been invested by pretending ignorance than in its essential characteristics. 1886 R. F. Burton tr. Arabian Nights' Entertainm. IX. cmxxxvi. 154 He went on to pretend penitence, beating hand upon hand. 1914 E. R. Burroughs Tarzan of Apes xxv. 338 How could she have pretended love, and raised him to such a pinnacle of hope only to cast him down to such utter depths of despair! 1968 A. K. Armah Beautyful Ones are not yet Born xi. 167 The man closed his eyes, pretending sleep. 1982 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Jrnl. 10 Sept. 1/4 ‘When I'm outside and playing, they all come running to me because it means I'm going for a walk,’ she says, pretending anger at her fickle furry fans. 2003 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 20 Oct. 15 There is an obvious tackiness about a multi-millionaire from the richest country in the world, pretending poverty. b. intransitive. With to (also †till): to lay claim to, profess to have, or affect (a quality, ability, etc.). ΘΚΠ the mind > language > statement > assertion without proof > [verb (intransitive)] > claim, maintain, or profess pretend1494 to make for ——c1522 bear1641 1494 Loutfut MS f. 10, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (at cited word) Til a counsal quhar thai saw nan pretendit til mair hie autorite na ane othir. a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Trial of Fox l. 935 in Poems (1981) 39 Se nane pretend to pryde in my presence. 1659 H. Hammond Paraphr. & Annot. Psalms (xviii. 20 Annot.) 100/2 What is here meant by the cleannesse of Davids hands, to which he here pretends. a1674 Earl of Clarendon Brief View Leviathan (1676) 320 Lamented by all men living who pretended to Virtue. 1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 51. ⁋2 Persons who cannot pretend to that Delicacy and Modesty, of which she is Mistress. 1739 tr. C. Rollin Anc. Hist. (ed. 2) V. 287 Each party pretended to the victory. 1769 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) I. xvi. 110 The ministry have not yet pretended to such a tyranny over our minds. 1816 J. Austen Emma I. 75 I only name possibilities. I do not pretend to Emma's genius for foretelling and guessing. 1852 S. J. B. Hale Northwood v. 47 Yankee farmers are the most slovenly people on earth that pretend to civilization. 1892 Harper's Mag. Apr. 757/1 Every town in Mexico that pretends to any rank at all has its annual feria, its great fair. 1942 E. Waugh Put out More Flags i. 11 Barbara herself pretended to no illusions about Basil. 1985 A. N. Wilson Gentlemen in Eng. (1986) iv. 81 Mark Pattison, the old Rector of Lincoln, who pretended to no Christian faith whatever. 2001 Times (Nexis) 28 May Much comedy stems from the pricking of pretentious dignity. The more dignity you pretend to, the richer the scope for the basely comic. †4. a. transitive. To profess or claim to have (an authority, power, right, title, etc.). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > morality > dueness or propriety > [verb (transitive)] > claim > claim to have claima1400 pretend1402 pretend1402 pretentc1425 to set up for1698 1402 Dundee Charters (1880) 18 Allegant and pretendant a speciale fredome. c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 1666 (MED) For I merueile how þou art so bolde..for Priam so proudly to pretende A maner title. 1469 A. Scales in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 571 My lorde of Norffolk pretendeth title to certeyn londys of Ser John Pastons. 1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Surueyeng xi. f. 17^v Where a man pretendeth a tytle, and after releseth in the court. 1589 in W. Macleod Family Papers Dundas (1897) No. 27 Pretendant our name to cloik thair unlauchfull doingis. 1630 in R. S. France Thieveley Lead Mines (1951) 107 Unto Godfrey Marcer..the surveyor paid part of the money due for the oare hee pretendes title unto. 1658 J. Bramhall Consecration Protestant Bishops Justified vi. 133 Where the Bishop of London never pretended any Iurisdiction. 1667 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 44 Notwithstanding any priviledge hee may pretend as being our servant. 1701 Disc. Species, Order & Govt. Christian Churches 127 The Church of Scotland..did renounce all degress of Subjection to the Church of England, or Geneva either; and when Episcopal, it was no less Independent, nor did the Church of England pretend any Jurisdiction over it. 1784 W. Cowper Let. 11 Dec. (1981) II. 309 Its right being at least so far a good one, that no word in the language could pretend a better. b. transitive. With infinitive as object: to claim the right (to do something). Also occasionally with clause as object. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > morality > dueness or propriety > [verb (transitive)] > claim challengea1240 claimc1320 pretend?a1425 vouch1488 to lay claim to1584 assert1649 vindicate1680 to take up1810 ?a1425 (a1415) Lanterne of Liȝt (Harl.) (1917) 3 (MED) Art not þou þanne a wickid man..þat pretendist..to bynde & lose, to blesse & curse, biside þis name Iesu? c1500 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Star Chamber (1903) I. 95 [Henry] Erle of Northumberland claymythe and pretendythe to haue the warde and mariage of your saide Oratoure. c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) xvii. 116 Ve degraid the, fra the nobilite..that thou pretendit to succeid to, be the deceisse of thy fathere. 1654 tr. M. Martini Bellum Tartaricum 129 This Prince pretended that the K. called Lu. should yield up his right to him. 1686 F. Spence tr. A. Varillas Ἀνεκδοτα Ἑτερουιακα 36 The deputy of the Ruffians pretended to receive the full sum which his accomplices had agreed upon. 1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. I. ix. 204 As both the archbishops pretended to sit on his right hand, this question of precedency begat a controversy between them. c. transitive. To lay claim to or claim ownership or possession of (a thing); to assert (a thing) as a right. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1430–1 Rolls of Parl. IV. 376/2 Alle ye persones yat pretende any interresse to object ayens yat partie..that yei sue to the Ordinarie. 1495 Rolls of Parl. VI. 489/1 That your said Oratour may have..the said Manours..ayenst..all other persones and their heyres, havyng, claymyng or pretendyng any thing therin. 1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 39 He hath no reason to pretend the Diamond. 1680 R. Morden Geogr. Rectified (1685) 427 At this day the Hollanders pretend all Trade at Japan. 1693 J. Evelyn tr. J. de La Quintinie Compl. Gard'ner i. iii. 70 The Peach-tree might well pretend a place there, for the Excellency of its good Fruit. 1755 N. Magens Ess. Insurances II. 165 Seamen taken and made Slaves shall not pretend any thing for their Ransom, either of the Master, Owners or Freighters. d. intransitive. To lay claim to a right to or share of something. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1619 Edinb. Test. L. f. 255^v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (at cited word) Guidis and geir..that..all vtheris executouris kyn and alya may pretend to. 1647 J. Brinsley Stand Still 101 Should God alwayes take the creature along with him, and make it a sharer or partner in the worke, happily it would be ready to steppe in, and pretend to a share in the Honour. 1684 Bp. G. Burnet tr. T. More Utopia 157 Yet [they] pretended to no share of the spoil. 1705 J. Law Money & Trade Considered 58 So long as they who did Subscribe can support the Bank upon the Terms of the Act of Parliament, none will pretend to any share in it. 1777 tr. J.-F. Marmontel Incas II. 261 Be extremely cautious how you mention to him either your favours, or his promises; be cautious how you pretend to a share of the gold accumulating for him. †5. a. transitive (reflexive). With infinitive, noun, adjective, or phrase as complement: to represent oneself as ——; to claim or profess to be ——. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > statement > assertion without proof > [verb (reflexive)] > claim, maintain, or profess sayOE showc1175 make?c1225 pretend1415 support?1471 1415 T. Hoccleve Addr. to Sir John Oldcastle l. 77 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 11 Thow art vnwys, thogh thow thee wys pretende. a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 885 He þat pretendiþ him of most nobley. c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 53^v (MED) He pretendiþ him to be holy and coueitiþ to be religious. 1568 (a1508) W. Kennedy Flyting (Bannatyne) in Poems W. Dunbar (1998) I. 201 Pretendand the to wryte sic skaldit skrowis. c1626 H. Bisset Rolment Courtis (1922) II. 185 Johnne Balyoll usurpare pretendand him to be the..Scottis king began his pretendit regnne. 1660 T. Fuller Mixt Contempl. ii. xii. 60 Poor petty, pittifull Persons, who pretended themselves Princes. 1672 in J. A. Picton City of Liverpool: Select. Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 246 A paper or libell..pretending itselfe to be a remonstrance. 1744 E. F. Haywood Fortunate Foundlings xvi. 211 The detested artful count had pretended himself my husband. 1780 J. Murray Lawfulness of Self-defence 16 There is something exceedingly absurd in the conduct of those who pretend themselves to be Christians, and insist that others bearing the same character, should not enjoy the same privileges which they claim as their right. 1828 Times 26 Sept. 4/1 [They] gave been for some time in the daily habit of obtaining goods from the shopkeepers and merchants, pretending themselves messengers from Mr. O'Connell. b. intransitive. With ellipsis of reflexive pronoun or infinitive. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ 1652 Severall Proc. Parl. No. 168. 2640 The Skiper pretends of Lubeck, but hath neither Bill of Lading nor letter. 1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 212 Wisest Men Have err'd, and by bad Women been deceiv'd; And shall again, pretend they ne're so wise. View more context for this quotation †6. a. intransitive. figurative. To tend to an end or point in action, speech, etc. Also: to extend in time. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > time > duration > have duration [verb (intransitive)] > grow longer or extend longOE reacha1325 lengthc1400 prolong1449 stretcha1616 pretend1655 to spin out1720 a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) iv. 922 For to what fyn he wolde anon pretende, Þat knowe ich wel. ?1520 A. Barclay tr. Sallust Cron. Warre agaynst Iugurth xxxix. f. 54 The wordes and counsell of the enchauntour and preest whiche behelde his sacrifyce pretended to the same poynte and conclusion as the desyre of his mynde moued hym longe before. 1655 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. I. iii. 2 None of his Arguments pretend beyond Meton's time. 1657 Bp. J. Taylor Coll. Polemical Disc. (1674) Ep. Ded. I find by experience that we cannot acquire that end which is pretended to by such addresses. b. intransitive. To stretch or reach forward; to move or go forward; to direct one's course; to tend. Usually with to or for. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > relate or connect [verb (intransitive)] belong1340 pertaina1382 pretend1481 appertaina1500 link?1544 touch?1611 relate1646 rapport1649 connect1709 to tie in1938 to tie up1959 the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > forward movement > move forward or advance [verb (intransitive)] wadeOE agoOE forthganga1000 forthgoOE syeOE kenc1275 to-stepc1275 vaunce1303 forthnima1325 passc1330 throc1330 forthpass1382 to pass forthc1384 to carry forthc1390 proceedc1392 to go alongc1400 to be forthwardc1430 get) groundc1436 to set onc1450 avauntc1460 pretend1481 to make way1490 advance?1507 to get forward1523 promove1570 to rid ground (also space)1572 to rid (the) way1581 progressa1586 to gather grounda1593 to make forth1594 to make on1597 to work up1603 perge1607 to work one's (also its) way1609 to pass on1611 to gain ground1625 to make its way1645 vadea1660 propagate1700 to gain one's way1777 further1789 to pull up1829 on1840 to make (up) ground1921 society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > direct (one's course, steps, etc.) [verb (transitive)] > be bound for or head for drawc1275 to-hieldc1275 roama1375 pretend1481 pursue1488 to make forth1508 to be in gate to1548 to make to ——a1568 to make unto ——1593 to be for1606 to set one's face for (from, to, towards)1611 steer1667 head1880 hit1889 the world > space > distance > nearness > be near to [verb (transitive)] > be in contact with > extend so far as to touch > with the hand or something held reacha1400 raught1571 pretend1650 1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde iii. xv. 168 Who pretendeth to god, God attendeth to hym. ?c1500 Mary Magdalene (Digby) 1076 I wyll pretende To stey to my father. ?c1500 Mary Magdalene (Digby) 2073 On-to my sell I woll pretend. [stage direct. Her xall þe prest go to his selle.] 1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer i. f. cccxxvi^v It maketh me backwarde to meue, whan my steppes by comune course euen forthe pretende. 1633 T. Adams Comm. 2 Peter (ii. 20) 1030 Though wee pretend for heaven, yet still we beare about us a tang of our native countrey. 1650 W. Brough Sacred Princ. 34 Suffer none..to pull downe thy Throne, whilst they pretend for thy Scepter. c. transitive. To hold out or extend in front of or over a person or thing, esp. as a covering or defence. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > extend [verb (transitive)] > spread (something) out or open > before or over pretend1578 1578 J. Banister Hist. Man Li The head [of Tibia] is thicke, round and ouercrusted with a cartilage, hauyng the neck therof, which is lo[n]g, much inwardly prete [n] ded. 1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene vi. xi. sig. Ii2 But Pastorella..Was by the Captaine all this while defended, Who..His target alwayes ouer her pretended . View more context for this quotation 1658 J. Evelyn tr. N. de Bonnefons French Gardiner 145 They may pretend them [sc. bells of earth over plants] for the night onely and to pervent hayl. 1670 H. Stubbe Plus Ultra 146 There was an opacous, dark red setling, with an enaeorema of contexed filaments pretended to the top. †7. transitive. To indicate, mean, signify. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > drift, tenor, purport > purport [verb (transitive)] proport1387 purport1389 pretend?a1425 import1425 preport1616 ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 121 To tineam folweth multiplicacioun of pediculez, & mltitude [read multitude] of pediculez pretendeþ [?c1425 Paris scheweþ; L. pretendit] lepre, and so tinea is a maner of lepre. c1450 (?c1408) J. Lydgate Reson & Sensuallyte (1901) 4977 (MED) And eche of hem..Pretendede in signifiaunce, By there chere, grete displesaunce. a1530 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfeccyon (1531) iii. f. Clxxxi That her name pretendeth, in that she is called maria, that is, the sterre of y^e see. 1588 W. Lambarde Eirenarcha (new ed.) iv. iii. 395 These men be not truly Iurors, till they be sworne, as their name pretendeth. 1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 459 Although the curling of his haire be a token of sluggish timidity, yet if the haire bee long and curled at the top onely, it pretendeth generous animosity. 1639 J. Shirley Ball iii. sig. F4 What pretends this to dance, theres something in't. 8. a. transitive. With infinitive as object. To claim, feign, or make oneself appear (to be or to do something). ΚΠ c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. 26 Sche vn-to somme pretendeth to be trewe. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 665/2 He pretendith to be my frynde, but he doyth the worst for me that he can. 1589 R. Lane in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations iii. 740 This resolution of theirs did not a little please mee,..although..I pretended to haue bene rather of the contrary opinion. 1638 W. Chillingworth Relig. Protestants i. i. §10. 37 I may, and doe believe them, as firmely as you pretend to do. 1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. J. Albert de Mandelslo 227 in Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors He will pretend not to have seen him. 1710 J. Swift Tale of Tub (ed. 5) Apol. sig. A4^v Dryden, L'Estrange..pretended to be Sufferers for Loyalty and Religion. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones I. ii. vi. 123 He was ignorant, or at least pretended to be so. View more context for this quotation 1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho III. vi. 152 The people pretend to know nothing about any prisoners. 1811 J. Austen Sense & Sensibility I. iv. 49 Mrs. Dashwood could neither pretend to be unconscious, nor endeavour to be calm. View more context for this quotation 1847 A. Helps Friends in Council I. 10 Pretending to agree with the world when you do not. 1891 W. Morris News from Nowhere vi. 43 They were always pretending to be offended at anything you said or did to them. 1910 H. H. Richardson Getting of Wisdom xiv. 140 Ramming his knuckles into his eyes, he pretended to cry at his daughter's rebuke. 1959 S. Gibbons Pink Front Door xviii. 222 Such a gentleman..always pretended not to see you if he met you coming out of the toilet. 2002 El Paso (Texas) Times (Nexis) 2 Oct. 6 b I gave them gum, took their pictures, told awful jokes they pretended to laugh at and drove back to my world. b. intransitive. To make pretence; to engage in make-believe or simulation; to feign. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > pretend, dissemble [verb (intransitive)] letc1000 faitc1330 counterfeitc1374 dissimulec1374 feignc1400 showc1405 supposea1450 fare1483 simule?a1500 dissemble1523 pretend1526 frame1545 cloakc1572 jouk1573 pretent1582 disguisea1586 devise1600 semble1603 coin1607 insimulate1623 fox1646 sham1787 dissimulate1796 gammon1819 to let on1822 simulate1823 possum1832 simulacrize1845 to put on an act1929 to put on (also up) a show1937 prat1967 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. BBvi Pretendyng & shewyng outwardly, as though it were of very mekenesse, but it is of false mekenes. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cxxv^v The byshop nowe pretendeth as though he would calle a counsel. c1640 E. Waller À la Malade 6 Had the rich gifts, conferred on you So amply thence, the common end Of giving lovers—to pretend? 1734 H. Fielding Don Quixote in Eng. iii. xv. 62 Pretend Madness! give me leave to tell you, Mr. Brief, I am not to be pretended with. 1780 W. Cowper Progress of Error 15 Weak to perform, though mighty to pretend. 1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xliv. 436 ‘He's dying’—‘He isn't, he's only pretending.’ 1894 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Ebb-tide i. v. 96 I never could act up to the plain-cut truth, you see; so I pretend. 1924 Iowa City (Iowa) Press-citizen 14 Apr. 2/3 I've been pretending about Florence ever since she was fifteen years old and I'm not going to pretend any more. 1955 Herald-Press (St. Joseph, Mich.) 3 Mar. 2/6 Stop pretending and go to work. 2005 Guardian (Nexis) 3 Dec. 52 I'm not quitting at all. I was only pretending. c. transitive. With infinitive or clause as object: to feign or simulate in play, to make playful pretence; to imagine oneself to be; to make-believe that. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > mental image, idea, or fancy > give mental shape to [verb (transitive)] > in play pretend1865 1865 ‘L. Carroll’ Alice's Adventures in Wonderland i. 13 This curious child was very fond of pretending to be two people. 1871 ‘L. Carroll’ Through Looking-glass i. 8 ‘Let's pretend we're kings and queens’... ‘Nurse! do let's pretend that I'm a hungry hyæna, and you're a bone!’ 1891 E. Kinglake Austral. at Home 20 The boys used to pretend that they were a court of justice, and appoint a judge, jury [etc.]. 1914 Times 6 Mar. 7/5 Even the pleasant music of his children, pretending to be a circus directly over his head, has been known to ruffle the devotee. 1926 Amer. Mercury Apr. 460/1 Sometimes we would climb into wagons and pretend that we were stagecoaching it through the Far West. 1946 W. Wolff Personality of Preschool Child i. i. 11 A 4-year-old child, pretending to be a ‘mother cat’. 1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day i. 22 I had fits of refusing food—a recalcitrance I could always be coaxed out of by my father's pretending I was a bear. 1988 L. Erdrich Tracks (1989) vii. 170 Your mother had played this with you before, curled her fingers in claws, pretended to be a dangerous rugaroo. 2005 Toronto Sun (Nexis) 1 May 33 My Mom used to pretend to be a monster called ‘The Zombie’ that spoke in its own jibberish language. d. intransitive. To make-believe in imagination or play. See also let's pretend n. ΚΠ 1893 F. H. Burnett One I knew Best xiv So she wandered about in a dream—‘pretending’. That changed it all. The heaps of earth and rubbish were mounds of flowers [etc.]. 1923 Times 2 Oct. 13/5 Children..will admit that they are too old to believe that he [sc. Father Christmas] really and truly exists; But why should anybody go out of his way to say that he does not? Now that the brutal word has escaped the barrier of grown-up lips, they feel it is not worth while to go on pretending any longer. 1964 Tri-city Herald (Pasco, Washington) 1 Nov. (Family Weekly section) 15/2 He's just pretending, isn't he, Daddy? 2005 Copley News Service (Nexis) 23 Oct. Children can know they are pretending, but be quite unsure about whether the costumed child coming toward them is also pretending or is as the disguise suggests. †9. transitive. To foretell, portend, prefigure. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prefiguration > prefigure [verb (transitive)] forecomea1300 to say beforec1384 signifyc1384 pretendc1425 prefigurec1429 preostendc1429 prefigurate1530 prefigurate1530 adumbrate1537 promise1556 premonstrate1562 foresignify1565 presignify1570 shadow1574 foreshadow1577 presage1583 fore-run1590 presign1590 fore-read1591 figure1595 type forth, out1596 fore-point1601 foreshow1601 prophesy1608 foretella1616 foretypea1618 forebode1656 harbingera1657 pretypify1658 pretype1659 forespeak1667 to figure out1721 forecast1883 favour1887 precourse1888 precursea1892 c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iii. 4953 (MED) No discrecioun Was to trest in swiche fantasies In dremys shewid..Al-be it so þat peples rude Þer-in som while han affeccioun To Iuge..Diuersly what þei may pretende, And ofte falle..as þei wende. c1425 Bk. Found. St. Bartholomew's (1923) 38 (MED) All the elementys pretendid to the wrecchid shipmene deith. a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) i. vii. sig. c.iii^v It pretended by all reasone Synguler grace and goodnes, to her comynge soone. a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid x. v. 147 The sing Pretendand tyll all mortale folk,..Contagyus infirmyteis and seyknes. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. lxiij^v The signes and wounders that are seene in all places, doe pretende no good. 1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. 218 Which the standers by..said did pretend some such accident unto the elder of the two Consuls. 1634 R. H. tr. Regim. Salerni 16 Overmuch repleation pretendith strangling or suddaine death. †10. To intend, plan. a. transitive. With infinitive as object. Obsolete. ΚΠ a1450 York Plays (1885) 242 (MED) Þes Jewes..pretende me to take With-outen any trespasse. ?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 362 (MED) And now oure Ioye, thy moder, to take thou pretendist. 1512 Helyas in W. J. Thoms Coll. Early Prose Romances (1828) III. 126 Never..shall I departe fro this regyon where as I pretende to save my soule. a1560 W. Kennedy Passion of Christ (S.T.S.) 1704 That he pretend and he haue tyme..Off his synnis to mak confessioun. 1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies i. xvii. 58 They shall stray wonderfully in their course, and arrive in another place then where they pretended to go. 1665 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 1 99 He pretends to make a visit into England with some of his Pieces. 1708 Boston News-let. 4 Oct. 4/2 The Privateer of Port-Royal of 20 Guns is come this way, and pretends to fight our Gally, and Monsieur Supercass has promised them 2000 Crowns if they bring her in. 1728 J. Morgan Compl. Hist. Algiers I. iii. 237 The Christians,..out of whose Hands he pretended to wrest some Place of Strength, wherein to fortify himself. b. transitive. With clause as object. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > intention > intend [verb (transitive)] willeOE meaneOE minteOE i-muntec1000 thinkOE ettlea1200 intenta1300 meanc1330 forn-castc1374 intendc1374 ettlea1400 drive1425 proposec1425 purpose1433 attend1455 suppose1474 pretend1477 mindc1478 minda1513 pretence1565 appurpose1569 to drive at ——1574 thought to1578 hight1579 pretent1587 fore-intend1622 pre-intend1647 design1655 study1663 contemplate1794 purport1803 1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 39 Pretending that men shold speke of his faytes and vailliaunces. 1612 J. Davies Discouerie Causes Ireland 112 To make a perpetuall separation and enmity betweene the English and the Irish; pretending..that the English should in the end roote out the Irish. 1728 J. Morgan Compl. Hist. Algiers I. v. 298 We pretend, that this City, already famous for the Defeat of two of your Armadas, shall become far more so by the Disgrace of this your third. c. transitive. With simple object. Obsolete. ΚΠ a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 149 (MED) All oþir askiþ & sekiþ her ovne comodites; þou pretendist [L. prætendis] allone myn helþe & my profityng. 1543 ( Chron. J. Hardyng (1812) 316 Flekes..ouer the mosse..He layde anon, with fagottes..There gate awaye [= going away] and passage to pretende. 1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 40^v Y^e women when they be most pleasaunt, pretend most trecherie. 1587 G. Turberville Tragicall Tales f. 38^v One that did pretend the spoyle, and slaughter of her sonne. 1633 T. Stafford Pacata Hibernia i. v. 40 I am given to understand that they pretend a journey towards the Countie of Limerick. 1840 R. H. Barham Mr. Barney Maguire's Acct. in Ingoldsby Legends 1st Ser. 292 And now I've ended, what I pretended, This narration splendid in swate poe-thry. †11. intransitive. To pertain. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > relevance or pertinence > [verb (intransitive)] belimpOE beholda1067 belielOE pertaina1325 pendc1330 appendc1386 appertainc1386 holdc1430 pretenda1470 recorda1500 depend1525 extenda1533 inherea1628 to make to ——1645 apply1741 a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 41 They furnysshed..hem of good men..and of all manner of ablemente that pretendith to warre [1529 ordynaunce that belongeth to warre]. 12. †a. intransitive. To aspire; to have pretensions. Chiefly with to. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > hope > aspiration, ambition > aspire to [verb (transitive)] pretend1481 to fawn upon1634 1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde i. xiv. 45 Some pretende to hye estates & grete richesses, & other ben content with lytil estate. a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 559 Shir knycht, your lorde wondir hie pretendis, When he to me sic salutatioune sendis. ?a1600 ( R. Sempill Legend Bischop St. Androis in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xlv. 357 To heich promotione he pretendit. 1633 G. Herbert Temple: Sacred Poems 86 When that my friend pretendeth to a place, I quit my interest, and leave it free. 1672 Sir C. Lyttelton in E. M. Thompson Corr. Family of Hatton (1878) I. 100 My L^d Fanshaw was disapointed of his desire to goe to Constantinople, having long pretended to it. 1705 Boston News-let. 12 Nov. 2/1 It may be some will not count it remarkable, that there should be Bad people among the Quakers..who do not pretend unto their Spirit of discerning. b. transitive. With infinitive as object. To aspire, presume; to venture; to try, attempt. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > endeavour > make an attempt or endeavour [verb (intransitive)] > to do something cuneOE seekc1000 fanda1225 suec1325 tastec1330 enforcec1340 study1340 temptc1384 intendc1385 assaila1393 proffera1393 to make meansc1395 search?a1400 fraistc1400 pursuec1400 to go aboutc1405 pretend1482 attempta1513 essay?1515 attend1523 regarda1533 offer1541 frame1545 to stand about1549 to put into (also in) practice1592 prove1612 imitate1626 snap1766 begin1833 make1880 the world > action or operation > undertaking > undertake [verb (transitive)] > without authority presumec1390 pretend1711 1482 Monk of Evesham 45 The deuyls..whyche pretendyn by mony weys of reson to haue her to hem. 1550 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 84 In caise it sal happin ony army to pretend to invaid and persew the said fort. 1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies i. xiii. 43 Whether King Iosaphats fleete, pretending to go, did suffer ship~wracke. 1653 Strathbogie Presb. Bk. (1843) 235 Only tuo [persons] praetended to be married by the said Gilles. 1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 128. ¶1 Whether..there may not be a kind of Sex in the very Soul, I shall not pretend to determine. 1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 142 The People offered to fire at them if they pretended to go forward. 1855 A. Bain Senses & Intellect i. ii. 184 How many ultimate nerve fibres are contained in each unit nerve, we cannot pretend to guess. 1869 R. Browning Ring & Bk. IV. x. 77 Dost thou dare pretend to punish me, For not descrying sunshine at midnight? a1895 T. C. Peter MS Coll. Cornish Words in Eng. Dial. Dict.: Suppl. (1905) 160/2 ‘Don't you pretend to get out whatever,’ i.e. get out of a carriage. 1933 Times 13 Feb. 19/5 It is difficult to forecast the feeling of Congress, and few pretend to guess the probable terms. †c. intransitive. To pay court to (a prospective spouse); to seek to be married to (a person). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > seeking marriage > seek in marriage [verb (transitive)] > court or woo wooc1290 court1580 suitc1586 accourt1590 sue1596 pretend1652 suitor1672 to make or pay (one's) court to1716 1652 J. Wright tr. J.-P. Camus Nature's Paradox iv. 82 In this..the Salvage Podolian had two ends; One, to hinder Liante from pretending to his Daughter. 1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 243 That..Step..lays her under the Foot of the Man she pretends to. 1774 C. Dibdin Deserter i. iv. 12 I can't pretend to such a good young man as you. 1796 R. Bage Hermsprong I. viii. 79 The young man,..not having advanced in effrontery so far as to pretend to a daughter of Mr. Sumelin, a 40,000 pounder, [etc.]. 1854 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes I. xxiv. 227 His son might pretend surely to his kinswoman's hand. 1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. xxix. 322 I am not such a fool as to pretend to you now I am poor, and you have got altogether above me. †13. intransitive. To form designs or plot against. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > intention > planning > plotting > plot [verb (intransitive)] subtlec1300 conspire1393 compass1430 malign?a1439 contrivec1440 machine?c1450 forthink1494 pretenda1500 practise1537 pack1568 brigue1580 machinate1602 manage1603 plot1607 tamper1607 faction1609 collogue1646 intriguea1714 to lay a scheme1826 scheme1842 angle1892 wheel and deal1961 a1500 in Notes & Queries (1977) Dec. 486 (MED) Males agayne paciens þer ded pretende. c1663 Hist. Estate Scotl. in D. Laing Misc. Wodrow Soc. (1844) 63 She said, That it wes against her authoritie that they pretended. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.adj.1602v.1395
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pretendn.adj.

pretendv.