Attended

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /əˈtɛndɪd/

Definitions

1. To be present at a gathering, event, or location ; to provide care, help, or service to someone or something ; to concentrate or focus one's attention on something
2. To go to or take part in a specific place or occasion ; to act in a supportive or medical role for a person or task ; to give careful thought or notice to details or instructions
3. Having been present for an activity or meeting ; offering assistance or performing duties for someone ; actively observing or listening with concentration

Etymology: "Attended" is the past tense and past participle of "attend," and the verb's core idea is literally a stretching or turning toward. Its Latin ancestor, "attendere," joins "ad-" ("to, towards") with "tendere" ("to stretch, direct one's course, strive"), so to attend was originally to direct yourself or your mind toward something. That physical image of stretching toward a target survives in the modern senses of showing up at a place, paying close heed to instructions, and tending to someone in need. The verb passed into English through Old French "atendre," meaning "to await, expect, or intend," and Middle English speakers used it in a wide range of senses, from devoting oneself to a task to serving a superior. Its sibling words show how far the Latin root spread: "attempt" and "tend" are doublets, descended from the same Latin verb by different routes. "Attempt" kept the sense of stretching toward a goal, while "tend" narrowed to looking after things.

Synonyms: present, visited

Antonyms: absent, ignored