French word entretenir comes from Old French entre (Among; amongst.), Old French tenez

Detailed word origin of entretenir

Dictionary entry	Language	Definition
entre	Old French (fro)	Among; amongst.
tenez	Old French (fro)
entretenir	Old French (fro)	(reflexive, s'entretenir) to support one another.
entretenir	Middle French (frm)	(transitive) to maintain; to look after.
entretenir	French (fra)	(reflexive) to have a discussion (with someone). (reflexive) to keep fit. (transitive) to maintain, to look after. (transitive) to support (e.g a family). (transitive, figuratively) to fuel, to keep something going.

Words with the same origin as entretenir