'attendance' originates from Latin, specifically the verb 'attendere', where 'ad-' meant 'to' and 'tendere' meant 'to stretch, direct or attend to'.

'attendance' changed from Old French 'atendance' and Middle English forms such as 'attendence' and eventually became the modern English word 'attendance'.

Initially it meant 'the act of attending or giving attention', but over time it also came to mean 'the number of people present' or 'turnout' in contexts like events or classes.