Tent – A Word Stretched Across Time

At a reenactment of the Battle of Hastings last autumn, I paused at this canvas shelter. Dyes hung drying in the breeze, and firewood crackled beneath a pot. It’s a scene that could belong to any century - and the word tent fits just as seamlessly. Its roots stretch across Latin, Old French, and Germanic languages, all the way to the webbed homes of caterpillars.