praetendere

Praetendere is a Latin verb meaning to bring forward, to allege, to claim as a justification, or to present as a pretext. The sense core centers on presenting something as a reason or basis for a position, argument, or action. The word is built from the prefix prae- “before” and tendere “to stretch, extend,” conveying the idea of extending a point or argument forward before others.

In classical usage, praetendere often appears in rhetorical or legal contexts, where one advances a case or cites grounds in favor of a conclusion. It can also carry the sense of pretending or feigning a claim, especially when a reason is presented as legitimate to conceal an ulterior motive. The English verb pretend and related terms such as pretension and pretext ultimately descend from this Latin root through later Latin and Old French.

Morphology and principal parts: praetendō, praetendere, praetendī, praetentum. As a third-conjugation verb, it forms the usual Latin paradigms (present, imperfect, future, perfect, etc.) with the stem praetend-. In use, it governs direct objects or clauses that express the thing being advanced as a claim or reason, for example in constructions like “praetendere causam” (to advance a case).

See also: pretence, pretext, pretension, pretend (English cognate).