definitions

tenter

[ ten-ter ]
/ ˈtɛn tər /
|

noun

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

verb (used with object)

to stretch (cloth) on a tenter or tenters.

verb (used without object)

to be capable of being tentered.

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Nearby words

tentacled, tentage, tentation, tentative, tented, tenter, tenterhook, tenterhooks, tenth, tenth amendment, tenth commandment

Origin of tenter

1300–50; Middle English tente to stretch (< Latin tentus, variant of tēnsus tense1) + -er1; replacing Middle English teyntur, of unclear derivation

Related forms

un·ten·tered, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tenter

British Dictionary definitions for tenter

tenter

/ (ˈtɛntə) /

noun

a frame on which cloth is stretched during the manufacturing process in order that it may retain its shape while drying
a person who stretches cloth on a tenter

verb

(tr) to stretch (cloth) on a tenter

Word Origin for tenter

C14: from Medieval Latin tentōrium, from Latin tentus stretched, from tendere to stretch
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012