Appertain

//ˌæpɚˈteɪn// verb

verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To belong to or be a part of, whether by right, nature, appointment, or custom; to relate to.

    "McInnis reached down and gently raised the old man's head to face him. "Edwin Falkirk, I hereby relieve you of the Directorship of Site-43 under my authority as Administrator of the SCP Foundation. Your security clearance credentials will be revoked in full, and all privileges appertaining to your position are rescinded.""

  2. 2
    be a part or attribute of wordnet
  3. 3
    To belong as a part, right, possession, attribute, etc.

    "Also the rule of false position, with dyuers examples not onely vulgar, but some appertaynyng to the rule of Algeber."

Synonyms

All synonyms
pertainpertainapplybearbelongrelate

Example

More examples

"McInnis reached down and gently raised the old man's head to face him. "Edwin Falkirk, I hereby relieve you of the Directorship of Site-43 under my authority as Administrator of the SCP Foundation. Your security clearance credentials will be revoked in full, and all privileges appertaining to your position are rescinded.""

Etymology

From Middle English apperteinen, apertenen, borrowed from Old French apartenir (French appartenir), from Late Latin appertinēre, from ad (“to”) + Latin pertinēre (“to reach to, belong”). More at pertain.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.