The Spanish word 'intención' (meaning 'intention') comes from the Latin word 'intentio', which meant 'stretching' or 'intention'. This Latin word was formed by combining two parts: the prefix 'in-' meaning 'in' or 'towards', and the verb 'tendere' meaning 'to stretch' or 'extend'. The original metaphorical idea was of 'stretching one's mind toward' something, which evolved into the modern concept of having a purpose or intention to do something.

Several common Spanish words share this same Latin root 'tendere'. For example: 'tender' (to extend/stretch), 'tenso' (tense/tight), 'atender' (to attend/pay attention to), and 'extender' (to extend/spread out). All these words carry the basic idea of stretching or extending in either a literal or figurative sense.

Many English words are related to 'intención' through the same Latin roots. The most obvious is 'intention', but others include 'tend', 'tender', 'tension', 'intense', 'extent', and 'attention'. All these words derive from Latin 'tendere' and maintain some connection to the original idea of stretching or extending. For instance, when something is 'intense', it's metaphorically 'stretched' to its limits, and when we 'attend' to something, we're 'stretching' our mind toward it.