Meaning

noun the enactment of a pretense

verb make believe with the intent to deceive

verb behave unnaturally or affectedly

originEtymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *préh₂i? Proto-Italic *prai Proto-Italic *prai- Latin prae- Proto-Indo-European *ten- Proto-Indo-European *tend-der. Proto-Italic *tendō Latin tendō Latin praetendōbor. Anglo-Norman pretendreder. English pretend From Anglo-Norman pretendre, Middle French pretendre (French prétendre…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0