pertinent - Definitions from Dictionary.com

5 results for: pertinent

Browse Nearby Entries

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

per·ti·nent

Audio Help [pur-tn-uh

nt] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

pertaining or relating directly and significantly to the matter at hand; relevant: pertinent details.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < L pertinent- (s. of pertinéns), prp. of pertinére to pertain; see -ent

]

—Related forms

per·ti·nence, per·ti·nen·cy, noun

per·ti·nent·ly, adverb

—Synonyms appropriate, fitting, fit, suitable, applicable. See apt.

—Antonyms irrelevant.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
pertinent

To learn more about pertinent visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

per·ti·nent Audio Help (pûr'tn-ənt) Pronunciation Key
adj. Having logical precise relevance to the matter at hand. See Synonyms at relevant.

[Middle English, from Old French partenant, pertinent, from Latin pertinēns, pertinent-, present participle of pertinēre, to pertain; see pertain.]

per'ti·nence, per'ti·nen·cy n., per'ti·nent·ly adv.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
pertinent

c.1380, from Anglo-Fr. purtinaunt (1278), from O.Fr. partenant (1246), from L. pertinentem (nom. pertinens) "pertaining," prp. of pertinere "to relate, concern" (see pertain).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

pertinent
adjective
1.	having precise or logical relevance to the matter at hand; "a list of articles pertinent to the discussion"; "remarks that were to the point"
2.	being of striking appropriateness and pertinence; "the successful copywriter is a master of apposite and evocative verbal images"; "an apt reply" [syn: apposite]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Pertinent

Im*per"ti*nent\, a. [F., fr. L. impertinens, -entis; pref. im- not + pertinens. See Pertinent.]

1. Not pertinent; not pertaining to the matter in hand; having no bearing on the subject; not to the point; irrelevant; inapplicable.

Things that are impertinent to us. --Tillotson.

How impertinent that grief was which served no end! --Jer. Taylor.

2. Contrary to, or offending against, the rules of propriety or good breeding; guilty of, or prone to, rude, unbecoming, or uncivil words or actions; as, an impertient coxcomb; an impertient remark.

3. Trifing; inattentive; frivolous.

Syn: Rude; officious; intrusive; saucy; unmannerly; meddlesome; disrespectful; impudent; insolent.

Usage: Impertinent, Officious, Rude. A person is officious who obtrudes his offices or assistance where they are not needed; he is impertinent when he intermeddles in things with which he has no concern. The former shows a want of tact, the latter a want of breeding, or, more commonly, a spirit of sheer impudence. A person is rude when he violates the proprieties of social life either from ignorance or wantonness. "An impertinent man will ask questions for the mere grafication of curiosity; a rude man will burst into the room of another, or push against his person, inviolant of all decorum; one who is officious is quite as unfortunate as he is troublesome; when he strives to serve, he has the misfortune to annoy." --Crabb. See Impudence, and Insolent.

Browse Nearby Entries: