conteni

Where it comes from

From an earlier cunteni, generally assumed to be from Latin continēre (and if so, a doublet of conține). However, this is somewhat problematic as it deviates from the usual change of Latin con- into Romanian cu (preserving the n), and tenere into ține (therefore the expected result would have been a *cuține or *cuținea), but other exceptions also exist. Nonetheless, it appears in texts as far back as the 16th century. Other theories suggest a Vulgar Latin root *cunctināre, from cunctārī (cf. Aromanian acumtin (“to stop, cease”)). It may have been also influenced by *contenuāre, from tenuāre.