tenor

[ten-er]

noun

1. the course of thought or meaning that runs through something written or spoken; purport; drift.

   Synonyms: gist, substance, content, import, sense

2. continuous course, progress, or movement.

3. Rhetoric.,  the subject of a metaphor, as “she” in “She is a rose.”

4. Music.

   1. the adult male voice intermediate between the bass and the alto or countertenor.

   2. a part sung by or written for such a voice, especially the next to the lowest part in four-part harmony.

   3. a singer with such a voice.

   4. an instrument corresponding in compass to this voice, especially the viola.

   5. the lowest-toned bell of a peal.

5. quality, character, or condition.

adjective

1. Music.,  of, relating to, or having the compass of a tenor.

tenor

/ ˈtɛnə /

noun

1. music

   1. the male voice intermediate between alto and baritone, having a range approximately from the B a ninth below middle C to the G a fifth above it

   2. a singer with such a voice

   3. a saxophone, horn, recorder, etc, intermediate in compass and size between the alto and baritone or bass

   4. ( as modifier )

      a tenor sax

2. general drift of thought; purpose

   to follow the tenor of an argument

3. 1. (in early polyphonic music) the part singing the melody or the cantus firmus

   2. (in four-part harmony) the second lowest part lying directly above the bass

4. Leisure:Bell-ringing

   1. the heaviest and lowest-pitched bell in a ring

   2. ( as modifier )

      a tenor bell

5. a settled course of progress

6. archaic,  general tendency

7. finance the time required for a bill of exchange or promissory note to become due for payment

8. law

   1. the exact words of a deed, etc, as distinct from their effect

   2. an exact copy or transcript

tenor

1. The highest range of the male singing voice. (Compare baritone and bass.)

Other Word Forms

• tenorless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tenor¹

1250–1300; < Medieval Latin, Latin: course, continuity, tone, equivalent to ten ( ēre ) to hold + -or -or ¹; replacing Middle English ten ( o ) ur < Anglo-French < Latin, as above

Word History and Origins

Origin of tenor¹

C13 (originally: general meaning or sense): from Old French tenour, from Latin tenor a continuous holding to a course, from tenēre to hold; musical sense via Italian tenore, referring to the voice part that was continuous, that is, to which the melody was assigned

Example Sentences

At the Tuesday night gala, the president’s favorite tenor, Christopher Macchio, serenaded business executives.

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His phrasing calls to mind the way an early hero of his, Lester Young, used to “sing” a song’s lyrics through his tenor saxophone.

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Such was the tenor of the movie releases of the early 1940s.

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The money investors added to “short- and intermediate-term government bond ETFs indicates that investors are eschewing longer-term tenors in favor of the belly of the curve,” wrote Bartolini.

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The emotional tenor of the viral post is striking.

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Related Words

• gist 
• mood 
• theme 
• tone