Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To have reference or relevance; relate.
  • intransitive verb To belong as an adjunct, part, holding, or quality.
  • intransitive verb To be fitting or suitable.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To belong; appertain, as a possession or an adjunct: with to or unto: as, the things which pertain to God.
  • To relate; have reference or relation: with to.
  • Synonyms To regard, relate to, bear upon, concern.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To belong; to have connection with, or dependence on, something, as an appurtenance, attribute, etc.; to appertain
  • intransitive verb To have relation or reference to something.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb intransitive to belong
  • verb intransitive to relate, to refer, be relevant to

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb be relevant to
  • verb be a part or attribute of

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English pertenen, pertainen, from Old French partenir, from Latin pertinēre : per-, per- + tenēre, to hold; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French partenir (French: appartenir), in turn from Latin pertineō.

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Examples

  • The American Academy of Family Physicians, which has more than 100,000 members, also expressed concerns about how the deal's terms pertain to Medicare.

    unknown title 2011

  • But to clarify, Cardinas said only four of the eight models named in the recall pertain to Guam: the 2009-2010 Matrix, the 2007-2010 Tundra, the 2008-2010 Sequoia and the 2005-2010

    guampdn.com - Local News 2010

  • Those terms pertain to only years with salary caps, the league says.

    Channel3000.com - Local News 2009

  • Those terms pertain to only years with salary caps, the league says.

    Channel3000.com - Local News 2009

  • Those terms pertain to only years with salary caps, the league says.

    Fore, right! 2009

  • PACER, the four calls pertain to paragraph 68 (e) of the criminal complaint and are conversations of Blagojevich and other interceptees.

    TalkLeft 2009

  • Those terms pertain to only years with salary caps, the league says.

    thejetsblog.com 2009

  • I write songs that kind of pertain to where I'm at now.

    A Veteran Songwriter's 'Old Man' Music 2009

  • That it is not expedient due to extrajudicial complications, such as pertain to future behaviors of CIA agents and as President Obama alleges, should have no bearing.

    Lies And Torture - When Policies And Words Diverge 2009

  • Why would Silvans "pertain" to Sancus if they are supposed to the one and same god?

    TLE 900: Sancus, yet another Etruscan "mystery god" 2007

Comments

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  • Can be used as a synonym for 'belong'.

    August 15, 2008