tenor
Part of speech: noun
adj
Morphological type: simple
Topics: business
entertainment
finance
human-sciences
law
lifestyle
linguistics
music
sciences
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.
Inflected forms:
form: tenors
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: tenour
pos: noun
tags: alternative
form: tenour
pos: adj
tags: alternative
Senses:
gloss: A musical range or section higher than bass and lower than alto.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: A person, instrument, or group that performs in the tenor (higher than bass and lower than alto) range.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: A musical part or section that holds or performs the main melody, as opposed to the contratenor bassus and contratenor altus, who perform countermelodies.
pos: noun
tags: archaic
countable
uncountable
gloss: The lowest tuned in a ring of bells.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: Tone, as of a conversation.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: 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.
gloss: duration; continuance; a state of holding on in a continuous course; general tendency; career.
pos: noun
tags: countable
obsolete
uncountable
examples: 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.
gloss: The subject in a metaphor to which attributes are ascribed.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: Time to maturity of a bond.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: Stamp; character; nature.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: This success would look like chance, if it were perpetual, and always of the same tenor.
gloss: 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.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: Than he shall delyuer to vs a tenour of that he ought to do.
gloss: That course of thought which holds on through a discourse; the general drift or course of thought; purport; intent; meaning; understanding.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: When it [the bond] is paid according to the tenor.
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.
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.
gloss: A tenor saxophone.
pos: noun
tags: colloquial
countable
uncountable
gloss: Of or pertaining to the tenor part or range.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
examples: 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 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?”
Kahn was not a big man and he had a voice that was a little more tenor than most preferred.
Derived words: counter-tenor
Old Tenor
Middle Tenor
New Tenor
SATB
tenor banjo
tenor clef
tenor drum
tenor guitar
tenor horn
tenorial
tenorist
tenorless
tenorman
tenor of the times
tenoroon
tenor recorder
tenor sax
tenor saxophone
tenor trombone
tenor viol
Translations:
lang: Bulgarian
word: тенор
roman: tenor
lang: Estonian
word: tenor
lang: Finnish
word: tenori
lang: Georgian
word: ტენორი
roman: ṭenori
lang: German
word: Tenor
lang: Hungarian
word: tenor
lang: Italian
word: tenore
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: tenor
lang: Norwegian Nynorsk
word: tenor
lang: Portuguese
word: tenor
lang: Russian
word: те́нор
roman: ténor
lang: Swedish
word: tenor