Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Attend
At-tend′
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Attended
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Attending
.] [OE.
atenden
, OF. atendre
, F. attendre
, to expect, to wait, fr. L. attendre
to stretch, (sc. animum
), to apply the mind to; ad
+ tendere
to stretch. See Tend
.] 1.
To direct the attention to; to fix the mind upon; to give heed to; to regard.
[Obs.]
The diligent pilot in a dangerous tempest doth not
attend
the unskillful words of the passenger. Sir P. Sidney.
2.
To care for; to look after; to take charge of; to watch over.
3.
To go or stay with, as a companion, nurse, or servant; to visit professionally, as a physician; to accompany or follow in order to do service; to escort; to wait on; to serve.
The fifth had charge sick persons to
attend
. Spenser.
Attends
the emperor in his royal court. Shakespeare
With a sore heart and a gloomy brow, he prepared to
attend
William thither. Macaulay.
4.
To be present with; to accompany; to be united or consequent to;
as, a measure
. attended
with ill effectsWhat cares must then
attend
the toiling swain. Dryden.
5.
To be present at;
as, to
. attend
church, school, a concert, a business meeting6.
To wait for; to await; to remain, abide, or be in store for.
[Obs.]
The state that
attends
all men after this. Locke.
Three days I promised to
attend
my doom. Dryden.
Attend is generic, the rest are specific terms. To mind is to attend so that it may not be forgotten; to regard is to look on a thing as of importance; to heed is to attend to a thing from a principle of caution; to notice is to think on that which strikes the senses.
Crabb.
See Accompany
. At-tend′
,Verb.
I.
1.
To apply the mind, or pay attention, with a view to perceive, understand, or comply; to pay regard; to heed; to listen; – usually followed by to.
Attend
to the voice of my supplications. Ps. lxxxvi. 6.
Man can not at the same time
attend
to two objects. Jer. Taylor.
2.
To accompany or be present or near at hand, in pursuance of duty; to be ready for service; to wait or be in waiting; – often followed by on or upon.
He was required to
attend
upon the committee. Clarendon.
3.
(with to) To take charge of; to look after;
as, to
. attend
to a matter of business4.
To wait; to stay; to delay.
[Obs.]
For this perfection she must yet
Till to her Maker she espoused be.
attend
,Till to her Maker she espoused be.
Sir J. Davies.
We attend with a view to hear and learn; we listen with fixed attention, in order to hear correctly, or to consider what has been said; we hearken when we listen with a willing mind, and in reference to obeying.
Webster 1828 Edition
Attend
ATTEND'
,Verb.
T.
1.
To go with, or accompany, as a companion, minister or servant.2.
To be present; to accompany or be united to; as a cold attended with fever.3.
To be present for some duty, implying charge or oversight; to wait on; as, the physician or the nurse attends the sick.4.
To be present in business; to be in company from curiosity, or from some connection in affairs; as, lawyers or spectators attend a court.5.
To be consequent to, from connection of cause; as, a measure attended with ill effects.6.
To await; to remain, abide or be in store for; as, happiness or misery attends us after death.7.
To wait for; to lie in wait.8.
To wait or stay for.Three days I promised to attend my doom.
9.
To accompany with solicitude; to regard.Their hunger thus appeased, their care attends.
The doubtful fortune of their absent friends.
10.
To regard; to fix the mind upon.The pilot doth not attend the unskillful words of the passenger.
This is not now a legitimate sense. To express this idea, we now use the verb intransitively, with to, attend to.
11.
To expect. [Not in use.]ATTEND'
, v.i.1.
To listen; to regard with attention; followed by to.Attend to the voice of my supplication. Ps. 86.
Hence much used in the imperative, attend!
2.
To regard with observation, and correspondent practice.My son, attend to my words.
Hence, to regard with compliance.
He hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Ps. 64.
3.
To fix the attention upon, as an object of pursuit; to be busy or engaged in; as, to attend to the study of the scriptures.4.
To wait on; to accompany or be present, in pursuance of duty; with on or upon; as, to attend upon a committee; to attend upon business. Hence,5.
To wait on, in service or worship; to serve.That ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.
1Cor. 7.
6.
To stay; to delay. Obs.For this perfection she must yet attend,
Till to her maker she espoused be.
7.
To wait; to be within call.Definition 2024
attend
attend
English
Verb
attend (third-person singular simple present attends, present participle attending, simple past and past participle attended)
- Alternative form of atend ("to kindle").
Related terms
Etymology 2
From Middle English attenden, atenden, from Old French atendre (“to attend, listen”), from Latin attendere (“to stretch toward, give heed to”), from ad (“to”) + tendere (“to stretch”); see tend and compare attempt.
Verb
attend (third-person singular simple present attends, present participle attending, simple past and past participle attended)
- (archaic, transitive) To listen to (something or someone); to pay attention to; regard; heed. [from 15th c.]
- Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586)
- The diligent pilot in a dangerous tempest doth not attend the unskilful words of the passenger.
- Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586)
- (archaic, intransitive) To listen (to, unto). [from 15th c.]
-
(intransitive) To turn one's consideration (to); to deal with (a task, problem, concern etc.), to look after. [from 15th c.]
- Secretaries attend to correspondence.
- 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 15, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
- Edward Churchill still attended to his work in a hopeless mechanical manner like a sleep-walker who walks safely on a well-known round. But his Roman collar galled him, his cossack stifled him, his biretta was as uncomfortable as a merry-andrew's cap and bells.
- (transitive) To wait upon as a servant etc.; to accompany to assist (someone). [from 15th c.]
- Valets attend to their employer's wardrobe.
- Edmund Spenser (c.1552–1599)
- The fifth had charge sick persons to attend.
- William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
- Attends the emperor in his royal court.
- Thomas Macaulay (1800-1859)
- With a sore heart and a gloomy brow, he prepared to attend William thither.
-
(transitive) To be present at (an event or place) in order to take part in some action or proceedings; to regularly go to (an event or place). [from 17th c.]
- Children must attend primary school.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 5, in The Celebrity:
- In the eyes of Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke the apotheosis of the Celebrity was complete. The people of Asquith were not only willing to attend the house-warming, but had been worked up to the pitch of eagerness. The Celebrity as a matter of course was master of ceremonies.
- 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, p. 20:
- I attended a one-room school next door to the palace and studied English, Xhosa, history and geography.
- (intransitive, law) To go to (a place) for some purpose (with at).
- To be present with; to accompany; to be united or consequent to.
- a measure attended with ill effects
- John Dryden (1631-1700)
- What cares must then attend the toiling swain.
- 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest:
- The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite. There is something humiliating about it. […] Can those harmless but refined fellow-diners be the selfish cads whose gluttony and personal appearance so raised your contemptuous wrath on your arrival?
- To wait for; to await; to remain, abide, or be in store for.
- John Locke (1632-1705)
- the state that attends all men after this
- John Dryden (1631-1700)
- Three days I promised to attend my doom.
- John Locke (1632-1705)
Synonyms
- (listen to): behear
Related terms
to be at an event
Translations
to turn one's consideration to, deal with
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to be present at
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to regularly go to
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