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tenter

[ ten-ter ]
/ ˈtɛn tər /
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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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Origin of tenter

1300–50; Middle English tente to stretch (<Latin tentus, variant of tēnsustense1) + -er1; replacing Middle English teyntur, of unclear derivation

OTHER WORDS FROM tenter

un·ten·tered, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tenter in a sentence

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
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