Emily Dickinson Lexicon

TEND, v.i. [L. tendo; Fr. tendre; It. tendere; formed on L. teneo, Gr. τεινω, Sans. tan.]

1. To move is a certain direction. Having overheard two gentlemen tending toward that sight. Wotton. Here Dardanus was burn, and hither tends. Dryden.
2. To be directed to any end or purpose; to aim at; to have or give a leaning. The laws of our religion tend to the universal happiness of mankind. Tillotson.
3. To contribute. Our petitions, if granted, might tend to our destruction. Hammond.
4. [for attend.] To attend; to wait as attendants or servants. He tends upon my father. [Colloquial.] Shak.
5. To attend as something inseparable. [Not in use.] Shak.
6. To wait; to expect. [Not in use.] Shak
7. To swing round an anchor, as a ship. Mar. Dict.