pretensioning
|pre-ten-sion-ing|
/prɪˈtɛnʃənɪŋ/
(pretension)
claim or affectation
Etymology
'pretension' originates from Latin, specifically the verb 'praetendere' (also written 'pretendere'), where 'prae-' meant 'before' and 'tendere' meant 'to stretch'.
'praetendere' (Latin) passed into Old French as 'pretention/pretension' and then into Middle English as 'pretension', eventually giving modern English 'pretension' and its derived forms such as 'pretensioning'.
Initially it had senses related to 'stretching forth' or 'making a claim'; over time it developed meanings including 'a claim/ambition' and, in engineering contexts, 'the act of applying tension beforehand', which is the sense used in 'pretensioning'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the process of applying tension to steel tendons or cables before they are embedded in concrete (a form of prestressing used in construction).
Pretensioning the cables improved the bridge deck's resistance to cracking.
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Noun 2
the act of behaving in a way that shows an attempt to appear more important or knowledgeable than one really is (rare; derived from 'pretension').
His constant pretensioning at meetings annoyed his colleagues.
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Verb 1
present participle or gerund form of 'pretension' (to apply tension beforehand).
The crew is pretensioning the tendons before pouring the concrete.
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Last updated: 2025/09/25 10:21