Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Having logical precise relevance to the matter at hand. See Synonyms at relevant.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Belonging or related to the subject or matter in hand; to the purpose; adapted to the end proposed; appropriate; apposite; not foreign to the question; being to the point. In the doctrine of scholastic disputation, pertinent (from the fourteenth century) was said of a proposition whose truth or falsity would follow necessarily from the truth of the proposition to which it was said to be pertinent, and also of a term which was necessarily true or necessarily false of that to which it was pertinent.
- Pertaining or relating; that regards or has reference: with to or unto.
- Synonyms Relevant, fit, proper, applicable, appertaining.
- n. In Scots law, an appurtenant: used, chiefly in the pllural, in charters and dispositions in conjunction with parts: as, lands are disponed with parts and pertinents.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Belonging or related to the subject or matter in hand; fit or appropriate in any way; adapted to the end proposed; apposite; material; relevant.
- adj. Regarding; concerning; belonging; pertaining.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. being of striking appropriateness and pertinence
- adj. having precise or logical relevance to the matter at hand
Etymologies
- Middle English, from Old French partenant, pertinent, from Latin pertinēns, pertinent-, present participle of pertinēre, to pertain; see pertain.
Examples
“Together with the genetic counselor, analyze the pedigree to obtain pertinent past medical records from appropriate “affected” members”
“The first comment, for example, says in pertinent part:”
“That controversy, like this one, turns on Article I, Section 5, which provides in pertinent part:”
“More realistic and pertinent is the realisation that what we do right now is determining the way our children and their offspring will live.”
“In the wake of protests from delinquent taxpayers about the depressing music that telephone callers to the Internal Revenue Service must endure when they are automatically placed on hold for forty-five minutes, the IRS has issued a statement, which reads, in pertinent part: There will be no changes made to our current telephone system configuration.”
The Huffington Post: John Baxter: IRS Refuses to Play More Upbeat Music for Callers on Hold
“An abbreviated version of entries made between 1977 and 1981, most of them never before revealed to the public, the book concentrates on themes that remain pertinent: Middle East peace, U.S.”
The Huffington Post: Glenn C. Altschuler: Jimmy Carter's Last Campaign
“Yes, there will be protests by animal lovers, but perhaps more pertinent is the fact that large birds of prey or carrion are notoriously uncooperative in matters of providing predictable and directable propulsion.”
“More pertinent is the underlying scientific report.”
“The final score of Vince Young's Wonderlic test (when the final score that seems most pertinent is 41-38 in the Rose Bowl).”
USATODAY.com - NFL Draft generates ample trivia, endless speculation
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘pertinent’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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