tenor
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Related to tenor: tenor voice
ten·or
(tĕn′ər)n.
1. The general course or character of something: "She would coast tonight, segue early into the Q&A, let the audience dictate the tenor of the event" (Anita Shreve). See Synonyms at tendency.
2. The word, phrase, or subject with which the vehicle of a metaphor is identified, as life in "Life's but a walking shadow" (Shakespeare).
3. The general meaning; the purport or drift: the tenor of her remarks; the tenor of your message.
4. Music
a. The highest natural adult male voice.
b. One who sings this part.
c. An instrument that sounds within this range.
d. A vocal or instrumental part written within this range.
[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin, uninterrupted course, from tenēre, to hold, continue; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
tenor
(ˈtɛnə)n
1. (Music, other) music
a. 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
b. a singer with such a voice
c. a saxophone, horn, recorder, etc, intermediate in compass and size between the alto and baritone or bass
d. (as modifier): a tenor sax.
2. general drift of thought; purpose: to follow the tenor of an argument.
3. (Music, other)
a. (in early polyphonic music) the part singing the melody or the cantus firmus
b. (in four-part harmony) the second lowest part lying directly above the bass
4. (Music, other) bell-ringing
a. the heaviest and lowest-pitched bell in a ring
b. (as modifier): a tenor bell.
5. a settled course of progress
6. archaic general tendency
7. (Banking & Finance) finance the time required for a bill of exchange or promissory note to become due for payment
8. (Law) law
a. the exact words of a deed, etc, as distinct from their effect
b. an exact copy or transcript
[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]
ˈtenorless adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ten•or
(ˈtɛn ər)n.
1. the course of thought or meaning that runs through something written or spoken; purport; drift.
2. continuous course, progress, or movement: nothing to disturb the even tenor of our lives.
3.
a. the adult male voice intermediate between the bass and the alto or countertenor.
b. a part sung by or written for such a voice.
c. a singer with such a voice.
d. an instrument corresponding in compass to this voice, esp. the viola.
e. the lowest-toned bell of a peal.
4. quality, character, or condition.
adj. 5. of, pertaining to, or having the compass of a tenor.
[1250–1300; Middle English ten(o)ur < Anglo-French < Medieval Latin, Latin: course, continuity, tone =ten(ēre) to hold + -or -or1]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
tenor
The highest natural adult male voice which may be either light and agile, or rich and sonorous.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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Noun | 1. | ![]() singing voice - the musical quality of the voice while singing |
2. | tenor - the pitch range of the highest male voice pitch - the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration | |
3. | tenor - an adult male with a tenor voice | |
4. | tenor - a settled or prevailing or habitual course of a person's life; "nothing disturbed the even tenor of her ways" direction - a general course along which something has a tendency to develop; "I couldn't follow the direction of his thoughts"; "his ideals determined the direction of his career"; "they proposed a new direction for the firm" | |
5. | tenor - the general meaning or substance of an utterance; "although I disagreed with him I could follow the tenor of his argument" | |
Adj. | 1. | tenor - (of a musical instrument) intermediate between alto and baritone or bass; "a tenor sax" music - an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner high-pitched, high - used of sounds and voices; high in pitch or frequency |
2. | tenor - of or close in range to the highest natural adult male voice; "tenor voice" high-pitched, high - used of sounds and voices; high in pitch or frequency |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
tenor
noun meaning, trend, drift, way, course, sense, aim, purpose, direction, path, theme, substance, burden, tendency, intent, purport The whole tenor of discussions has changed.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
tenor
noun1. The thread or current of thought uniting or occurring in all the elements of a text or discourse:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
أعْلى أصوات الرِّجال في الغِناءمُغَنٍّ تينور
tenor
tenor
tenorisävy
tenor
tenortónus
tenórsöngvari
テノール
테너
tenoras
tenors
tenor
tenor
เสียงสูงรองลงมาจากเสียงสูงสุด
giọng nam cao
tenor
[ˈtenəʳ]Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
tenor
[ˈtɛnər] modif [saxophone, trombone, banjo] → ténorten-pin bowling tenpin bowling n (mainly British) → bowling m (à 10 quilles)
to go tenpin bowling → jouer au bowling
to go tenpin bowling → jouer au bowling
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
tenor
n
adj (Mus) → Tenor-; tenor voice → Tenorstimme f; tenor saxophone → Tenorsaxofon nt, → Tenorsaxophon nt
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
tenor
(ˈtenə) noun (a man with) a singing voice of the highest normal pitch for an adult male.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
tenor
→ مُغَنٍّ تينور tenor tenor Tenor τενόρος tenor tenori ténor tenor tenore テノール 테너 tenor tenor tenor tenor тенор tenor เสียงสูงรองลงมาจากเสียงสูงสุด tenor giọng nam cao 男高音Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009