tenor
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- tenour (archaic)
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English tenour, from Anglo-Norman tenour, from Old French tenor (“substance, contents, meaning, sense; tenor part in music”), from Latin tenor (“course, continuance; holder”), from teneō (“I hold”). In music, from the notion of the one who holds the melody, as opposed to the countertenor.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
tenor (countable and uncountable, plural tenors)
Examples (A tenor singing "O Canada") | ||
---|---|---|
|
- (music) A musical range or section higher than bass and lower than alto.
- A person, instrument, or group that performs in the tenor (higher than bass and lower than alto) range.
- (archaic, music) A musical part or section that holds or performs the main melody, as opposed to the contratenor bassus and contratenor altus, who perform countermelodies.
- The lowest tuned in a ring of bells.
- Tone, as of a conversation.
- 1835, William Gilmore Simms, The Partisan, Harper, Chapter XI, page 145:
- Colonel Walton, who had striven to check the conversation at moments when he became conscious of its tenor, now gladly engaged his guest on other and more legitimate topics.
- (obsolete) duration; continuance; a state of holding on in a continuous course; general tendency; career.
- 1790, Adam Smith, “Of the Beauty which the Appearance of Utility Bestows upon the Charactes and Actions of Men; […]”, in The Theory of Moral Sentiments; […] In Two Volumes, 6th edition, volume I, London: […] A[ndrew] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell […]; Edinburgh: W[illiam] Creech, and J. Bell & Co., →OCLC, part IV, page 481:
- It is the conſciouſneſs of this merited approbation and eſteem which is alone capable of ſupporting the agent in this tenour of conduct.
- 1751, Thomas Gray, Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard:
- Along the cool sequestered vale of life / They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.
- (linguistics) The subject in a metaphor to which attributes are ascribed.
- (finance) Time to maturity of a bond.
- Stamp; character; nature.
- 1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
- This success would look like chance, if it were perpetual, and always of the same tenor.
- (law) An exact copy of a writing, set forth in the words and figures of it. It differs from purport, which is only the substance or general import of the instrument.
- 1523, Lord Berners, The Chronicle of Froissart:
- Than he shall delyuer to vs a tenour of that he ought to do.
- That course of thought which holds on through a discourse; the general drift or course of thought; purport; intent; meaning; understanding.
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
- When it [the bond] is paid according to the tenor.
- 1832, Caroline Wilson, The Listener:
- He would have learned , by the whole tenor of the divine law , and especially by the example of the absent Lord , whose property he was for a season trusted with , that he was to do as much good to humanity , and win as much glory to God, as was compatible with the measure of his trust, and for the time for which he might retain it.
- 1960 March, “Testing a rebuilt "Merchant Navy" Pacific of the S.R.”, in Trains Illustrated, page 169:
- The general tenor of the report on No. 35020 is that all the improvements in performance aimed at in the rebuilding of these engines have been achieved.
- (colloquial, music) A tenor saxophone.
Coordinate terms[edit]
- (voice types): soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto (female, decreasing in pitch); countertenor, baritone, bass (male, decreasing in pitch)
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Adjective[edit]
tenor (not comparable)
- Of or pertaining to the tenor part or range.
- He has a tenor voice.
- 1962, Frank Howard Richardson, For Parents Only: The Doctor Discusses Discipline:
- Many a star athlete has very little hair anywhere except what he wears on top of his head, and a voice that is absolutely tenor.
- 2009, Richard Smith, Can't You Hear Me Calling: The Life of Bill Monroe, Father of Bluegrass, Da Capo Press, →ISBN:
- Sometimes Charlie would sing notes that were more tenor than original melody, forcing Bill to sing a high baritone-style line.
- 2012, Lily George, Captain of Her Heart, Harlequin, →ISBN, page 173:
- The door swung open, and a masculine voice—a little more tenor than Brookes's bass tones—called, “Brookes, come in. Do you have your colleague with you?”
- 2015, Michael J. Senger Sr., The Connection, Lulu Press, Inc, →ISBN:
- Kahn was not a big man and he had a voice that was a little more tenor than most preferred.
Translations[edit]
See also[edit]
tenor on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Tenor in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
Anagrams[edit]
Catalan[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
tenor m (plural tenors)
Related terms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “tenor” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
Czech[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
tenor m anim
- tenor (higher-range male singer)
Declension[edit]
Noun[edit]
tenor m inan
- tenor (musical range)
Declension[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- tenor in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
- tenor in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
- tenor in Internetová jazyková příručka
Danish[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
tenor c (singular definite tenoren, plural indefinite tenorer)
- tenor (musical range, person, instrument or group performing in the tenor range)
Declension[edit]
common gender |
Singular | Plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | tenor | tenoren | tenorer | tenorerne |
genitive | tenors | tenorens | tenorers | tenorernes |
Further reading[edit]
Dutch[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle Dutch tenore, from Medieval Latin tenor or Italian tenore, from Latin tenor.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
tenor m (plural tenoren or tenors)
Derived terms[edit]
Ido[edit]
Verb[edit]
tenor
- future infinitive of tenar
Indonesian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
- From Dutch tenor, from Italian tenore, from Latin tenor.
- Semantic loan from English tenor for sense of time to maturity of a bond.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
tenor (first-person possessive tenorku, second-person possessive tenormu, third-person possessive tenornya)
Further reading[edit]
- “tenor” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.
Latin[edit]
Etymology[edit]
teneō (“to hold”) + -or (“abstract noun suffix”)
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈte.nor/, [ˈt̪ɛnɔr]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈte.nor/, [ˈt̪ɛːnor]
Noun[edit]
tenor m (genitive tenōris); third declension
- a sustained, continuous course or movement, a continuity of events, conditions etc. or way of proceeding
- a line of reasoning, point, gist of an utterance in so far as it decides legal questions whether individually or generally, a provision (either its wording or its meaning)
- a tone (of sound or color); stress (of the voice)
- (Medieval Latin) a seisin
Declension[edit]
Third-declension noun.
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
Nominative | tenor | tenōrēs |
Genitive | tenōris | tenōrum |
Dative | tenōrī | tenōribus |
Accusative | tenōrem | tenōrēs |
Ablative | tenōre | tenōribus |
Vocative | tenor | tenōrēs |
Descendants[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “tenor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “tenor”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- tenor in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- “tenor” on page 2118 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (2nd ed., 2012)
- Wacke, Andreas (21-08-2020), “Das Rechtswort: Tenor”, in Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte: Romanistische Abteilung (in German), volume 137,
Middle English[edit]
Noun[edit]
tenor
- Alternative form of tenour
Norwegian Bokmål[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Italian tenore, via French ténor and German Tenor.
Noun[edit]
tenor m (definite singular tenoren, indefinite plural tenorer, definite plural tenorene)
- tenor (singing voice or singer; pitch of a musical instrument)
References[edit]
- “tenor” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Italian tenore, via French ténor and German Tenor.
Noun[edit]
tenor m (definite singular tenoren, indefinite plural tenorar, definite plural tenorane)
- tenor (singing voice or singer; pitch of a musical instrument)
References[edit]
- “tenor” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old French[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From tenir, cf. also Late Latin tentor.
Noun[edit]
tenor oblique singular, m (oblique plural tenors, nominative singular tenors, nominative plural tenor)
Descendants[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
Inherited from Latin tenor, tenōrem.
Noun[edit]
tenor oblique singular, f (oblique plural tenors, nominative singular tenor, nominative plural tenors)
- possession
- content (of a letter)
References[edit]
- Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (tenor, feminine noun, possession)
- tenure on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub
Polish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Italian tenore, from Latin tenor.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
tenor m pers
- tenor (male singer who performs in the tenor range)
Declension[edit]
Noun[edit]
tenor m inan
- (music) tenor (musical range or section higher than bass and lower than alto)
- tenor (instrument that performs in the tenor range)
- tone, overtone, message
Declension[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- tenor in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- tenor in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Portuguese[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Italian tenore.[1][2] Doublet of teor.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
tenor m (plural tenores)
Adjective[edit]
tenor (invariable, not comparable)
References[edit]
- ^ “tenor” in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2023.
- ^ “tenor” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.
Romanian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from French ténor or Italian tenore.
Noun[edit]
tenor m (plural tenori)
Declension[edit]
Spanish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Latin tenōrem, with the sense of "tenor" taken from Italian tenore.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
tenor m (plural tenores)
Derived terms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “tenor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Anagrams[edit]
- norte (see for more anagrams)
Tagalog[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
tenór
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ten-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Anglo-Norman
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Music
- English terms with archaic senses
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with obsolete senses
- en:Linguistics
- en:Finance
- en:Law
- English colloquialisms
- en:Musical instruments
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- en:Musical voices and registers
- en:People
- Catalan terms derived from Latin
- Catalan 2-syllable words
- Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation
- Catalan lemmas
- Catalan nouns
- Catalan countable nouns
- Catalan masculine nouns
- Czech terms derived from Latin
- Czech terms with IPA pronunciation
- Czech lemmas
- Czech nouns
- Czech masculine nouns
- Czech animate nouns
- Czech masculine animate nouns
- Czech hard masculine animate nouns
- Czech inanimate nouns
- Czech masculine inanimate nouns
- Czech hard masculine inanimate nouns
- Danish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Danish lemmas
- Danish nouns
- Danish common-gender nouns
- Dutch terms inherited from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Medieval Latin
- Dutch terms derived from Italian
- Dutch terms derived from Latin
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɔr
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch nouns with lengthened vowel in the plural
- Dutch nouns with plural in -s
- Dutch masculine nouns
- Ido non-lemma forms
- Ido verb forms
- Indonesian terms borrowed from Dutch
- Indonesian terms derived from Dutch
- Indonesian terms derived from Italian
- Indonesian terms derived from Latin
- Indonesian semantic loans from English
- Indonesian terms derived from English
- Indonesian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Indonesian lemmas
- Indonesian nouns
- Requests for plural forms in Indonesian entries
- id:Music
- id:Finance
- Latin terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Latin terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ten-
- Latin terms suffixed with -or
- Latin 2-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin lemmas
- Latin nouns
- Latin third declension nouns
- Latin masculine nouns in the third declension
- Latin masculine nouns
- Medieval Latin
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- Norwegian Bokmål terms derived from Italian
- Norwegian Bokmål terms derived from French
- Norwegian Bokmål terms derived from German
- Norwegian Bokmål lemmas
- Norwegian Bokmål nouns
- Norwegian Bokmål masculine nouns
- nb:Music
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Italian
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from French
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from German
- Norwegian Nynorsk lemmas
- Norwegian Nynorsk nouns
- Norwegian Nynorsk masculine nouns
- nn:Music
- Old French lemmas
- Old French nouns
- Old French masculine nouns
- Old French terms inherited from Latin
- Old French terms derived from Latin
- Old French feminine nouns
- Polish terms borrowed from Italian
- Polish terms derived from Italian
- Polish terms derived from Latin
- Polish 2-syllable words
- Polish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Polish terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Polish/ɛnɔr
- Rhymes:Polish/ɛnɔr/2 syllables
- Polish lemmas
- Polish nouns
- Polish masculine nouns
- Polish personal nouns
- Polish inanimate nouns
- pl:Music
- pl:Male people
- pl:Musical instruments
- pl:Musicians
- Portuguese terms borrowed from Italian
- Portuguese terms derived from Italian
- Portuguese doublets
- Portuguese 2-syllable words
- Portuguese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Portuguese/oɾ
- Rhymes:Portuguese/oɾ/2 syllables
- Rhymes:Portuguese/oʁ
- Rhymes:Portuguese/oʁ/2 syllables
- Portuguese lemmas
- Portuguese nouns
- Portuguese countable nouns
- Portuguese masculine nouns
- pt:Music
- Portuguese adjectives
- Portuguese indeclinable adjectives
- Portuguese uncomparable adjectives
- Romanian terms borrowed from French
- Romanian terms derived from French
- Romanian terms borrowed from Italian
- Romanian terms derived from Italian
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian nouns
- Romanian countable nouns
- Romanian masculine nouns
- Spanish terms borrowed from Latin
- Spanish terms derived from Latin
- Spanish terms borrowed from Italian
- Spanish terms derived from Italian
- Spanish 2-syllable words
- Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Spanish/oɾ
- Rhymes:Spanish/oɾ/2 syllables
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish nouns
- Spanish countable nouns
- Spanish masculine nouns
- Spanish formal terms
- Tagalog terms borrowed from Spanish
- Tagalog terms derived from Spanish
- Tagalog terms with IPA pronunciation
- Tagalog lemmas
- Tagalog nouns
- tl:Music