The word 'tennis' originates from the Anglo-French term 'tenetz' or 'tenez', an imperative form of the Old French verb 'tenir', meaning "to hold, receive, or take". This was likely a call from the server to the opponent, akin to "take this!" or "receive!". The game itself evolved from earlier French handball games like 'jeu de paume'. The modern spelling was standardized in English, completely obscuring its original verbal roots. Thus, 'tennis' stands as an unanalyzable lexical unit whose form is a fossilized remnant of a medieval French command.

The word 'tennis' is a simplex loanword. Its spelling and form do not allow for segmentation into meaningful, reusable English morphemes based on its current spelling.