teso

See also: tesó, tesò, and Teso

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [ˈte̞.zu]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈtɛ.zo]
• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈtɛ.zu]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈte.zo]

Verb

teso

1. first-person singular present indicative of tesar

Galician

Etymology

Inherited from Latin tensus. Compare the borrowed doublet tenso.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈteso̝/

Noun

teso m (plural tesos)

1. hill; mountain; mountain top

   Synonyms: curuto, cotarelo

Adjective

teso (feminine tesa, masculine plural tesos, feminine plural tesas)

1. taut, tight, tense, stretched
   • c1350, K. M. Parker (ed.), Historia Troyana. Santiago: Instituto "Padre Sarmiento", page 342:

     Et acharom a seu señor Pyrrus moy malandante ẽna area, moy jnchado et tã teso que adur lles podo falar

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   Synonyms: irto, rexo, ríxido

2. stiff (formal in behavior; unrelaxed)
3. erect

   Carallo teso non cre en Deus (proverb)

   In heat, men are prone to sin

   (literally, “An erect penis don't believe in God”)

Derived terms

• entesar
• Teso

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “teso”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “teso”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Santamarina, editor (2006–2013), “teso”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Santamarina, Ernesto X. González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “teso”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “teso”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈte.zo/, (traditional) /ˈte.so/
• Rhymes: -ezo, (traditional) -eso
• Hyphenation: té‧so

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin tēnsus. Compare the borrowed doublet tenso. Cognate with Sicilian tisu.

Adjective

teso (feminine tesa, masculine plural tesi, feminine plural tese, superlative tesissimo)

1. taut, tight, tense, stretched
2. outstretched
3. tense, nervous, fraught, strained
4. (followed by a) aimed, intended

Derived terms

• tesare

Participle

teso (feminine tesa, masculine plural tesi, feminine plural tese)

1. past participle of tendere

Etymology 2

Verb

teso

1. first-person singular present indicative of tesare

Anagrams

• esto, oste, stoe

Old English

Noun

teso ?

1. alternative form of tesu

Old Leonese

Etymology

From Latin tēnsus. Found in a document in Spanish with heavy Leonese influence dating to the 15th century.

Noun

teso m

1. small hill
   • 1480, Tractatus de proprietatibus rerum (Leonese-influenced Spanish):

     Los mayores maestros todo el mundo midieron y las partes [...] y los lugares y los campos y los terretorios y los tesos y las redondezas

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Descendants

• Asturian: tesu
• Leonese: tesu, teisu

Portuguese

Etymology

Inherited from Latin tēnsus (“stretched”). Doublet of tenso.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈte.zu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈte.zu/

• Rhymes: -ezu
• Hyphenation: te‧so

Adjective

teso (feminine tesa, masculine plural tesos, feminine plural tesas)

1. taut; stretched (pulled tight, as in a rope)

   Synonyms: retesado, esticado, tenso

2. stiff; firm; tense
3. still; unmoving

   Synonym: hirto

   1. (colloquial) erect (having an erect penis)
4. (figurative)
   1. fearless; brave; valiant

      Synonym: intrépido

   2. overheated; violent (said of a discussion or argument)
   3. energetic

      Synonym: energético

   4. (of a person) decisive; inflexible; stubborn

      Synonym: pulso firme

   5. impetuous

      Synonym: impetuoso

5. (informal) penniless; broke

   Synonyms: liso, (Brazil) duro

6. steep; steep-sided

   Synonym: íngreme

Derived terms

• entesar
• tesar

Related terms

• tender
• tensão

Noun

teso m (plural tesos)

1. a steep mountain or hill
2. summit (of a mountain or hill)
3. (Northern Brazil) elevated terrain (on flooded lands, above sea level)
4. (Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul) the top of a steep riverbank; a riverside bluff
5. (informal) a moneyless or broke person

Verb

teso

1. first-person singular present indicative of tesar

Further reading

• “teso”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “teso”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “teso”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈteso/ [ˈt̪e.so]
• Rhymes: -eso
• Syllabification: te‧so

Etymology 1

From Latin tēnsus.

Noun

teso m (plural tesos)

1. crest of a hill

   Synonym: cresta

Adjective

teso (feminine tesa, masculine plural tesos, feminine plural tesas)

1. (Colombia) smart; clever

   Synonym: listo

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

teso

1. first-person singular present indicative of tesar

Further reading

• “teso”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025