tenor
English
editAlternative forms
edit- tenour (archaic)
Etymology
editFrom 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
editNoun
edittenor (countable and uncountable, plural tenors)
Examples (A tenor singing "O Canada") | |||
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- (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
editTranslations
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
edittenor (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
editSee also
edit- tenor on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Tenor in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
Anagrams
editCatalan
editEtymology
editPronunciation
edit- IPA(key): (Central) [təˈnor]
- IPA(key): (Balearic, Mallorca) [təˈno], (Menorca) [təˈnor]
- IPA(key): (Valencia) [teˈnoɾ]
Noun
edittenor m (plural tenors)
Noun
edittenor m or (archaic) f (plural tenors)
Related terms
editFurther reading
edit- “tenor” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
Czech
editEtymology
editPronunciation
editNoun
edittenor m anim
- tenor (higher-range male singer)
Declension
editNoun
edittenor m inan
- tenor (musical range)
Declension
editRelated terms
editFurther reading
editDanish
editPronunciation
editNoun
edittenor c (singular definite tenoren, plural indefinite tenorer)
- tenor (musical range, person, instrument or group performing in the tenor range)
Declension
editcommon gender |
Singular | Plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | tenor | tenoren | tenorer | tenorerne |
genitive | tenors | tenorens | tenorers | tenorernes |
Further reading
editDutch
editEtymology
editFrom Middle Dutch tenore, from Medieval Latin tenor or Italian tenore, from Latin tenor.
Pronunciation
editNoun
edittenor m (plural tenoren or tenors)
Derived terms
editIdo
editVerb
edittenor
- future infinitive of tenar
Indonesian
editEtymology
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
editNoun
edittenor (first-person possessive tenorku, second-person possessive tenormu, third-person possessive tenornya)
Further reading
edit- “tenor” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.
Latin
editEtymology
editteneō (“to hold”) + -or (“abstract noun suffix”)
Pronunciation
edit- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /ˈte.nor/, [ˈt̪ɛnɔr]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈte.nor/, [ˈt̪ɛːnor]
Noun
edittenor 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
editThird-declension noun.
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | tenor | tenōrēs |
genitive | tenōris | tenōrum |
dative | tenōrī | tenōribus |
accusative | tenōrem | tenōrēs |
ablative | tenōre | tenōribus |
vocative | tenor | tenōrēs |
Descendants
editFurther 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 (2020 August 21) “Das Rechtswort: Tenor”, in Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte: Romanistische Abteilung (in German), volume 137,
Middle English
editNoun
edittenor
- Alternative form of tenour
Norwegian Bokmål
editEtymology
editFrom Italian tenore, via French ténor and German Tenor.
Noun
edittenor 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
editEtymology
editFrom Italian tenore, via French ténor and German Tenor.
Noun
edittenor 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
editAlternative forms
editEtymology 1
editFrom tenir, cf. also Late Latin tentor.
Noun
edittenor oblique singular, m (oblique plural tenors, nominative singular tenors, nominative plural tenor)
Descendants
editEtymology 2
editInherited from Latin tenor, tenōrem.
Noun
edittenor 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
editEtymology
editBorrowed from Italian tenore, from Latin tenor.
Pronunciation
editNoun
edittenor m pers
- tenor (male singer who performs in the tenor range)
Declension
editNoun
edittenor 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
editFurther reading
editPortuguese
editEtymology
editBorrowed from Italian tenore.[1][2] Doublet of teor.
Pronunciation
edit
Noun
edittenor m (plural tenores)
Adjective
edittenor (invariable, not comparable)
References
edit- ^ “tenor”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024
- ^ “tenor”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2024
Romanian
editEtymology
editBorrowed from French ténor or Italian tenore.
Noun
edittenor m (plural tenori)
Declension
editSpanish
editEtymology
editBorrowed from Latin tenōrem, with the sense of "tenor" taken from Italian tenore.
Pronunciation
editNoun
edittenor m (plural tenores)
Derived terms
editFurther reading
edit- “tenor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28
Anagrams
edit- norte (see for more anagrams)
Tagalog
editEtymology
editPronunciation
edit- (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /teˈnoɾ/ [t̪ɛˈn̪oɾ]
- Rhymes: -oɾ
- Syllabification: te‧nor
Noun
edittenór (Baybayin spelling ᜆᜒᜈᜓᜇ᜔)
- (music) tenor (musical range)
- singer with a tenor voice
- underlying meaning shown (by the drift of words or tone of voice)
Anagrams
edit- 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 pronunciation
- 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
- English terms with usage examples
- en:Musical voices and registers
- en:People
- Catalan terms borrowed from Latin
- Catalan terms derived from Latin
- Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation
- Catalan lemmas
- Catalan nouns
- Catalan countable nouns
- Catalan masculine nouns
- ca:Music
- Catalan feminine nouns with no feminine ending
- Catalan feminine nouns
- Catalan nouns with multiple genders
- 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 pronunciation
- 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 2-syllable words
- Indonesian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Indonesian lemmas
- Indonesian nouns
- 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 pronunciation
- 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
- Portuguese 3-syllable words
- 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 2-syllable words
- Tagalog terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Tagalog/oɾ
- Rhymes:Tagalog/oɾ/2 syllables
- Tagalog terms with mabilis pronunciation
- Tagalog lemmas
- Tagalog nouns
- Tagalog terms with Baybayin script
- tl:Music