The word 'tenia' entered English directly from Latin 'taenia', which itself was borrowed from Ancient Greek 'tainia', meaning a band, ribbon, or headband. The Greek term is likely derived from the Proto-Indo-European root ten- meaning "to stretch," which is the source of many words involving tension or thinness. This etymological journey from a concept of stretching to a narrow band logically explains its dual modern meanings: a literal flat, ribbon-like anatomical structure (the tapeworm) and an architectural band separating sections of a structure.

The word is a direct borrowing from Latin, where it meant a band, ribbon, or tapeworm. It is not productively segmented into smaller, meaningful morphemes in modern English.