Origins
Two unrelated Latin words collided in English to produce one spelling with two meanings.βββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ The adjective tender β soft, gentle, easily hurt β comes from Latin tener, meaning 'delicate, young'. The verb tender β to offer formally β comes from Latin tendere, meaning 'to stretch, to extend'.
The adjective arrived first, through Old French tendre in the 13th century. Latin tener carried all the senses English still uses: a tender child (young and vulnerable), tender meat (soft enough to cut easily), a tender touch (gentle), and tender skin (easily damaged). The word captures the whole spectrum of softness, from affection to fragility.
The verb came later, also through French. To tender a resignation is to extend it β to stretch it toward the recipient. Legal tender is money stretched out in payment, officially offered. A tender in naval terms is a small boat that extends supplies to a larger vessel.
Later History
The overlap creates quietly beautiful ambiguities. A tender offer on Wall Street is a formal bid, not a gentle one. But the adjective colours the verb β to tender something feels softer than to submit it.
Tendril belongs to the verb's family: a plant tendril stretches and extends toward the light. Tenderness belongs to the adjective's family: the quality of being soft enough to feel for others.