tenor

noun

/ˈtɛnə(ɹ)/UK

Etymology

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 (“to hold”). In music, from the notion of the one who holds the melody, as opposed to the countertenor.

derived from tenor
derived from tenor
derived from tenour
inherited from tenour

Definitions

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…
A person, instrument, or group that performs in the tenor (higher than bass and lower than alto) range.
A musical part or section that holds or performs the main melody, as opposed to the…
A musical part or section that holds or performs the main melody, as opposed to the contratenor bassus and contratenor altus, who perform countermelodies.
›+ 10 more definitionsshow fewer
1. The lowest tuned in a ring of bells.
2. 5
  Tone, as of a conversation.
  - 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.
3. 6
  duration
  duration; continuance; a state of holding on in a continuous course; general tendency; career.
  - It is the conſciouſneſs of this merited approbation and eſteem which is alone capable of ſupporting the agent in this tenour of conduct.
  - Along the cool sequestered vale of life / They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.
4. The subject in a metaphor to which attributes are ascribed.
5. Time to maturity of a bond.
6. 9
  Stamp
  Stamp; character; nature.
  - This success would look like chance, if it were perpetual, and always of the same tenor.
7. 10
  An exact copy of a writing, set forth in the words and figures of it. It differs from…
  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.
  - Than he shall delyuer to vs a tenour of that he ought to do.
8. 11
  That course of thought which holds on through a discourse
  That course of thought which holds on through a discourse; the general drift or course of thought; purport; intent; meaning; understanding.
  - When it [the bond] is paid according to the tenor.
  - 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.
9. A tenor saxophone.
10. 13
  Of or pertaining to the tenor part or range.
  - He has a tenor voice.
  - 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.
  - Sometimes Charlie would sing notes that were more tenor than original melody, forcing Bill to sing a high baritone-style line.

The neighborhood

Derived

counter-tenor, Old Tenor, Middle Tenor, New Tenor, SATB, tenor banjo, tenor clef, tenor drum, tenor guitar, tenor horn, tenorial, tenorist, tenor of the times, tenor recorder, tenor sax, tenor saxophone, tenor trombone, tenor viol

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at tenor. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

A definitional loop anchored at tenor. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

5 hops · closes at tenor

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA