tenter

American  

[ten-ter] / ˈtɛn tər /

noun

1. a framework on which cloth in the process of manufacture is stretched so it may set or dry evenly.

2. Obsolete. a tenterhook.

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verb (used with object)

1. to stretch (cloth) on a tenter or tenters.

verb (used without object)

1. to be capable of being tentered.

tenter British  

/ ˈtɛntə /

noun

1. a frame on which cloth is stretched during the manufacturing process in order that it may retain its shape while drying

2. a person who stretches cloth on a tenter

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verb

1. (tr) to stretch (cloth) on a tenter

Other Word Forms

• untentered adjective

Etymology

Origin of tenter

1300–50; Middle English tente to stretch (< Latin tentus, variant of tēnsus tense ¹ ) + -er ¹; replacing Middle English teyntur, of unclear derivation

Example Sentences

Soon Jocelin himself is wrestling with the high cost of inspiration, strung taut between the tenter hooks of divine and earthly means.

From Time Magazine Archive

I'm on tenter hooks to know whether I shall have a Reprimand, or a bad conduct mark in my report.

From A Young Girl's Diary by Paul, Eden

His attitude betrays an overwhelming, gloomy anxiety which has him on tenter hooks.

From Anna Christie by O'Neill, Eugene

But his chief fear was, and it kept him on tenter hooks throughout the day, that his grand exploit would be nipped in the bud, altogether frustrated, by his being prematurely fetched home.

From A Hero of Romance by Marsh, Richard

Si la sagesse renonce à consoler cette pauvre race humaine, trahie par le sort, laisse la folie tenter l'aventure.

From Occasional Papers Selected from the Guardian, the Times, and the Saturday Review, 1846-1890 by Church, R. W. (Richard William)