Tend vs Seem - What's the difference?
tend | seem |
(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.
(with to) To look after (e.g. an ill person.)
To accompany as an assistant or protector; to care for the wants of; to look after; to watch; to guard.
* Emerson
To wait (upon), as attendants or servants; to serve; to attend.
* Shakespeare
(obsolete) To await; to expect.
(obsolete) To be attentive to; to note carefully; to attend to.
* Chapman
(nautical) To manage (an anchored vessel) when the tide turns, to prevent it from entangling the cable when swinging.
(lb) To appear; to look outwardly; to be perceived as.
* 1813 (14thc.), (Dante Alighieri), The Vision of Hell as translated by The Rev. H. F. Cary.
*:He, from his face removing the gross air, / Oft his left hand forth stretch'd, and seem'd alone / By that annoyance wearied.
*
*:They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too..
*, title=The Mirror and the Lamp
, chapter=2 *{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=19 *{{quote-news, year=2012, date=August 5, author=Nathan Rabin
, title= (lb) To befit; to beseem.
:(Spenser)
In obsolete terms the difference between tend and seem
is that tend is to be attentive to; to note carefully; to attend to while seem is to befit; to beseem.As verbs the difference between tend and seem
is that tend is to kindle; ignite; set on fire; light; inflame; burn while seem is to appear; to look outwardly; to be perceived as.tend
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) tenden, from (etyl) . Related to (l).Alternative forms
* (l), (l), (l), (l), (l) * (l), (l), (l), (l) (Scotland)Derived terms
* (l), (l)Etymology 2
From (etyl) *.Verb
(en verb)- 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. * SeeDerived terms
* tendencySee also
* be given toEtymology 3
From (etyl) . More at (l).Verb
(en verb)- We need to tend to the garden, which has become a mess.
- Shepherds tend their flocks.
- 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.
- Was he not companion with the riotous knights / That tend upon my father?
- (Shakespeare)
- Being to descend / A ladder much in height, I did not tend / My way well down.
External links
* * *Anagrams
* ----seem
English
Verb
(en verb)citation, passage=That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired.}}
citation, passage=Meanwhile Nanny Broome was recovering from her initial panic and seemed anxious to make up for any kudos she might have lost, by exerting her personality to the utmost. She took the policeman's helmet and placed it on a chair, and unfolded his tunic to shake it and fold it up again for him.}}
TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “I Love Lisa”(season 4, episode 15; originally aired 02/11/1993) , passage=So while Ralph generally seems to inhabit a different, more glorious and joyful universe than everyone else here his yearning and heartbreak are eminently relateable. Ralph sometimes appears to be a magically demented sprite who has assumed the form of a boy, but he’s never been more poignantly, nakedly, movingly human than he is here.}}