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Bent vs Tend - What's the difference?

bent | tend |

As a proper noun bent

is .

As a verb tend is

to kindle; ignite; set on fire; light; inflame; burn or tend can be (legal|old english law) to make a tender of; to offer or tender or tend can be (with to) to look after (eg an ill person).

bent

English

Etymology 1

From bend.

Verb

(head)
  • (bend)
  • Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (Of something that is usually straight) folded, dented
  • (derogatory, colloquial, chiefly, UK) Homosexual.
  • Determined or insistent.
  • He was bent on going to Texas, but not even he could say why.
    They were bent on mischief.
  • Of a person, leading a life of crime.
  • (slang, football) inaccurate at shooting
  • That shot was so bent it left the pitch.
  • (colloquial, chiefly, US) Suffering from the bends
  • (slang) High]] from using both [[Cannabis, marijuana and alcohol.
  • Man, I am so bent right now!
    Synonyms
    * (folded) crooked * (homosexual) queer
    Derived terms
    * bent as a nine-bob note

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An inclination or talent.
  • He had a natural bent for painting.
  • A predisposition to act or react in a particular way.
  • His mind was of a technical bent .
  • The state of being curved, crooked, or inclined from a straight line; flexure; curvity.
  • the bent of a bow
    (Wilkins)
  • A declivity or slope, as of a hill.
  • (Dryden)
  • Particular direction or tendency; flexion; course.
  • * John Locke
  • bents and turns of the matter
  • (carpentry) A transverse frame of a framed structure.
  • Tension; force of acting; energy; impetus.
  • * Norris
  • the full bent and stress of the soul
    Synonyms
    * (an inclination or talent) disposition, predilection, proclivity, propensity

    Etymology 2

    Origin uncertain. Apparently representing (etyl) (term) (attested only in place-names and personal names), cognate with Old High German binuz (modern German ).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Any of various stiff or reedy grasses.
  • * Drayton
  • His spear a bent , both stiff and strong.
  • * 1888 , Rudyard Kipling, ‘The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes’, The Phantom ’Rickshaw and Other Tales , Folio Society 2005, p. 121:
  • Gunga Dass gave me a double handful of dried bents which I thrust down the mouth of the lair to the right of his, and followed myself, feet foremost [...].
  • * 1913 ,
  • Clusters of strong flowers rose everywhere above the coarse tussocks of bent .
  • A grassy area, grassland.
  • * The Ballad of Chevy Chase
  • Bowmen bickered upon the bent .
    English irregular past participles English irregular simple past forms ----

    tend

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) tenden, from (etyl) . Related to (l).

    Alternative forms

    * (l), (l), (l), (l), (l) * (l), (l), (l), (l) (Scotland)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To kindle; ignite; set on fire; light; inflame; burn.
  • Derived terms
    * (l), (l)

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) *.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (legal, Old English law) To make a tender of; to offer or tender.
  • (followed by a to infinitive) To be likely, or probable to do something, or to have a certain characteristic.
  • They tend to go out on Saturdays.
    It tends to snow here in winter.
    Usage notes
    * In sense 2. this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. * See
    Derived terms
    * tendency

    See also

    * be given to

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) . More at (l).

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (with to) To look after (e.g. an ill person.)
  • We need to tend to the garden, which has become a mess.
  • To accompany as an assistant or protector; to care for the wants of; to look after; to watch; to guard.
  • Shepherds tend their flocks.
  • * Emerson
  • There's not a sparrow or a wren, / There's not a blade of autumn grain, / Which the four seasons do not tend / And tides of life and increase lend.
  • To wait (upon), as attendants or servants; to serve; to attend.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Was he not companion with the riotous knights / That tend upon my father?
  • (obsolete) To await; to expect.
  • (Shakespeare)
  • (obsolete) To be attentive to; to note carefully; to attend to.
  • * Chapman
  • Being to descend / A ladder much in height, I did not tend / My way well down.
  • (nautical) To manage (an anchored vessel) when the tide turns, to prevent it from entangling the cable when swinging.
  • Anagrams

    * ----