'tense' (grammatical sense) originates from Old French, specifically the word 'tens', where this came from Latin 'tempus' meaning 'time'. Also, 'tense' (adjective meaning 'stretched, tight') originates from Latin, specifically the past participle 'tensus' of 'tendere', where 'tendere' meant 'to stretch'.

'Tense' (grammatical) changed from Old French 'tens' and entered Middle English as 'tense', eventually becoming the modern English word 'tense'. The adjective sense evolved from Latin 'tensus' (past participle of 'tendere') through Old French/medieval Latin forms into Middle English 'tense'.

For the grammatical sense, it initially related to 'time' ('tempus') and developed into the technical grammatical term for verb time distinctions; for the adjective sense, it originally meant 'stretched' (from 'tendere') and retained the core idea of tightness or strain, later extending metaphorically to mental or emotional nervousness.