# tenor
## English
### Alternative forms

* tenour (archaic)

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

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /tɛnə(ɹ)/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Audio (UK):(file)
* Homophone: tenner

### Noun

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

* (voice types): soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto (female, decreasing in pitch); countertenor, baritone, bass (male, decreasing in pitch)

#### Derived terms

* 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

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Adjective

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
### See also

* tenor on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
* Tenor in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

### Anagrams

* Norte, Toner, Trone, noter, toner, torne, trone

## Catalan
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin tenōrem.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central) [təˈnor]
* IPA: (Balearic, Mallorca) [təˈno], (Menorca) [təˈnor]
* IPA: (Valencia) [teˈnoɾ]

### Noun

tenor m (plural tenors)
* (music) tenor

### Noun

tenor m or (archaic) f (plural tenors)
* tone, tendency, tenor

### Related terms

* tenir

### Further reading

* “tenor” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

## Czech
### Etymology

Latin teneo.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈtɛnor]

### Noun

tenor m anim
* tenor (higher-range male singer)

#### Declension
### Noun

tenor m inan
* tenor (musical range)

#### Declension
### Related terms

* abstinence
* abstinent
* abstinovat
* detence
* impertinentní
* kontejner
* kontinent
* kontinentální
* pertinentní
* retence
* tenis
* tenista

### Further reading

* “tenor”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
* “tenor”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
* “tenor”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

## Danish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /teˈnoːr/, [teˈnoˀɐ̯]

### Noun

tenor c (singular definite tenoren, plural indefinite tenorer)
* tenor (musical range, person, instrument or group performing in the tenor range)

#### Declension
### Further reading

* “tenor” in Den Danske Ordbog
* “tenor” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

## Dutch
### Etymology

From Middle Dutch tenore, from Medieval Latin tenor or Italian tenore, from Latin tenor.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /təˈnɔr/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: te‧nor
* Rhymes: -ɔr

### Noun

tenor m (plural tenoren or tenors)
* tenor

#### Derived terms

* contratenor

## Ido
### Verb

tenor
* future infinitive of tenar

## Indonesian
### Etymology

* From Dutch tenor, from Italian tenore, from Latin tenor.
* Semantic loan from English tenor for sense of time to maturity of a bond.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈtɛnɔr]
* Hyphenation: tè‧nor

### Noun

tenor (plural tenor-tenor)
* tenor:
** (music) a musical range or section higher than bass and lower than alto
** (music) a person, instrument or group that performs in the tenor (higher than bass and lower than alto) range
** (finance) time to maturity of a bond

### Further reading

* “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
### Etymology

teneō (“to hold”) +‎ -or (“abstract noun suffix”)

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈte.nor/, [ˈt̪ɛnɔr]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈte.nor/, [ˈt̪ɛːnor]

### Noun

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

Third-declension noun.

#### Descendants

* Catalan: tenor
* Old French: tenor
** French: teneur, ténor
*** → Dutch: teneur
** → English: tenor
* Galician: teor, tenor
* German: Tenor
* → Icelandic: tenór
* Italian: tenore
** → Portuguese: tenor
* Portuguese: teor, tenor
* Sicilian: tinuri
* Spanish: tenor

### Further reading

* “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, →DOI

## Middle English
### Noun

tenor
* Alternative form of tenour

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Etymology

From Italian tenore, via French ténor and German Tenor.

### Noun

tenor m (definite singular tenoren, indefinite plural tenorer, definite plural tenorene)
* tenor (singing voice or singer; pitch of a musical instrument)

### References

* “tenor” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Etymology

From Italian tenore, via French ténor and German Tenor.

### Noun

tenor m (definite singular tenoren, indefinite plural tenorar, definite plural tenorane)
* tenor (singing voice or singer; pitch of a musical instrument)

### References

* “tenor” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Old French
### Alternative forms

* tenëor
* tenour (Anglo-Norman)

### Etymology 1

From tenir, cf. also Late Latin tentor.

#### Noun

tenor oblique singular, m (oblique plural tenors, nominative singular tenors, nominative plural tenor)
* holder; possessor (one who possesses; one who has)

##### Descendants

* French: teneur
** → Dutch: teneur
* → English: tenor

### Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin tenor, tenōrem.

#### Noun

tenor oblique singular, f (oblique plural tenors, nominative singular tenor, nominative plural tenors)
* possession
* content (of a letter)

### References

* Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX$^e$ au XV$^e$ siècle (1881) (tenor, feminine noun, possession)
* tenure on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub

## Polish
### Etymology

Borrowed from Italian tenore, from Latin tenor.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈtɛ.nɔr/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ɛnɔr
* Syllabification: te‧nor

### Noun

tenor m pers
* tenor (male singer who performs in the tenor range)

#### Declension
### Noun

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
    Synonyms: sens, wydźwięk

#### Declension
### Further reading

* tenor in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* tenor in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Borrowed from Italian tenore. Doublet of teor.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /teˈnoʁ/ [teˈnoh]
* (Brazil) IPA: /teˈnoʁ/ [teˈnoh]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /teˈnoɾ/
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /teˈnoʁ/ [teˈnoχ]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /teˈnoɻ/
* (Portugal) IPA: /tɨˈnoɾ/
* (Portugal) IPA: /tɨˈnoɾ/
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /tɨˈno.ɾi/
* Rhymes: (Portugal, São Paulo) -oɾ, (Brazil) -oʁ
* Hyphenation: te‧nor

### Noun

tenor m (plural tenores)
* (music) tenor (musical range)
* (music) tenor (musical performer)

### Adjective

tenor (invariable, not comparable)
* (music) tenor (of or relating to the tenor part or range)

### References

* ↑ “tenor”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
* ↑ “tenor”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French ténor or Italian tenore.

### Noun

tenor m (plural tenori)
* tenor

#### Declension
## Spanish
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin tenōrem, with the sense of "tenor" taken from Italian tenore.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /teˈnoɾ/ [t̪eˈnoɾ]
* Rhymes: -oɾ
* Syllabification: te‧nor

### Noun

tenor m (plural tenores)
* tenor
* (formal) sense, meaning

#### Derived terms

* a tenor de

### Further reading

* “tenor”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

### Anagrams

* norte (see for more anagrams)

## Tagalog
### Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish tenor.

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Tagalog) IPA: /teˈnoɾ/ [t̪ɛˈn̪oɾ]
* Rhymes: -oɾ
* Syllabification: te‧nor

### Noun

tenór (Baybayin spelling ᜆᜒᜈᜓᜇ᜔)
* (music) tenor (musical range)
* singer with a tenor voice
* underlying meaning shown (by the drift of words or tone of voice)
    Synonyms: himig, tono, tunog, hagkis, pahiwatig

### Anagrams

* Norte, norte, terno