▪ I. tenor, n.1 (a.)
(ˈtɛnə(r))
Also 4 tenur, 4–6 -oure, 4–9 -our, 5 -owre, -eur, 6 -ore, -er, tennour, (teanor), 6–7 tennor, 7 tenner. β. 4–8 tenure (5 teneure).
[a. OF. tenor, -our, 13th c. (also tenoire, -eure, -ure, 13–14th c.), mod.F. teneur fem., substance, import of a document, etc.:—L. tenōr-em course, import (of a law, etc.), f. tenēre to hold. The musical term was in 14–15th c. F. tenor masc. and fem., ‘a tenor part, voice, or singer’, mod.F. ténor masc., after It. tenore and med.L. tenor, to which also the English word in all senses has been conformed. Confusion with tenure prevailed from 13th to 18th c.: see β.]
A. n. I. 1. a. The course of meaning which holds on or continues through something written or spoken; the general sense or meaning of a document, speech, etc.; substance, purport, import, effect, drift.
In technical legal use (as in Fr.) implying the actual wording of a document, or a transcript thereof (distinguished from effect): cf. b. proving of the tenor (Sc. Law): see quot. 1838.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 17614 Þai did þan for to write a writt, Þis þan was þe tenur of hit. 13.. K. Alis. 2977 Anothir lettre he sent heom tho, And of a more bitter tenour. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 35 Þe tenor of his laws was suche. 1413–22 Marg. of Anjou Lett. (Camden) 22 Youre gracieux letters of prive seal, the teneur of the which we have wel understand. 1526 Tindale Acts viii. 32 The tener off the scripture which he redde was this. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) II. 355 This wes the tennour that tyme of thair band. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iv. ii. 216 Hee..receiues letters of strange tenor. 1664 H. More Myst. Iniq. 112 This is the tenour of the New Covenant. 1703 Lond. Gaz. No. 3953/1 (Scotl.) Act for proving the Tenor in Favours of Anna Cockburn. 1825 Jefferson Autobiog. Wks. 1859 I. 10 The tenor of these propositions being generally known. 1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. s.v. Proving, The terms of a deed which has been lost or destroyed may be proved in an action peculiar to the Court of Session, called an action of proving the tenor. 1870 L'Estrange Miss Mitford I. i. 20 Such was the general tenour of Mrs. Mitford's letters. |
| β [1292 Britton vi. iv. §9 Solom la tenure del Pone (tr. according to the tenor of the Pone).] 13.. K. Alis. 1707 (Bodl. MS.), A letter par amoure Of whiche swiche was þe tenure. 1427 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 332/2 Ayeins the teneure and forme of the saide Statutes. 1512 Act 4 Hen. VIII, c. 11 Certen Indentures wherof the tenure hereafter ensuyth. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 235 Bid me teare the bond. Iew. When it is paid according to the tenure. 1682 Lond. Gaz. No. 1733/4 According to the Tenure of his Majesties Letters Patents. |
b. concr. An exact copy of a document, a transcript. (In quot. 1523, a written statement.) Now techn.: see prec. sense.
| c 1450 Godstow Reg. 366 Even as hit apperith of submyssions of the same parties, Tenouris of the which folow bynethe. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccxii. 257 Than he shall delyuer to vs a tenour of that he ought to do. 1588 Lambarde Eiren. iv. xviii. 591 Sometimes they are to certifie and send vp onely a Tenor (or Transcript) as I sayd, of the Record. 1842 S. Greenleaf Evidence (1844) I. §502. 575 In such cases, nothing is returned but the tenor, that is, a literal transcript of the record, under the seal of the Court. |
c. The value of a bank note or bill as stated on it: in phr. old tenor, middle tenor, new tenor, referring to the successive issues of paper currency in the colonies of Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the 18th c. Hist.
| 1740 W. Douglass Disc. Curr. Brit. Plant. Amer. 40 All bills of the old Tenor when brought into their Treasury, to issue out no more. 1811 J. Adams Wks. (1854) IX. 638 It is worse than old tenor, continental currency, or any other paper money. 1878 F. A. Walker Money xv. 319 In 1741 the Assembly made 6s. 9d. of the new-tenor equal to 27 shillings of the old. Ibid. 320 By act of 1770, the old-tenor notes were to be exchanged at this rate. |
d. The underlying idea or subject to which a metaphor refers, as distinct from the literal meaning of the words used. Cf. vehicle n. 3 d.
| 1936 I. A. Richards Philos. Rhet. v. 96 A first step is to introduce two technical terms to assist us in distinguishing..what Dr. Johnson called the two ideas that any metaphor, at its simplest, gives us. Let me call them the tenor and the vehicle. The tenor, as I am calling it—[is] the underlying idea or principal subject which the vehicle or figure means. Ibid. 100 The tenor may become almost a mere excuse for the introduction of the vehicle, and so no longer be ‘the principal subject’. 1949 Poetry (Chicago) Feb. 304 The tenor is the new meaning, the vehicle the old meaning on which the new meaning is conveyed. 1962 S. Ullmann Semantics viii. 213 An important factor in the effectiveness of a metaphor is the distance between tenor and vehicle. 1973 A. Rodway in R. Fowler Dict. Mod. Crit. Terms 112 In the phrase ‘Now is the winter of our discontent’..discontentedness is the tenor, and an aspect of winter..the vehicle. 1980 G. B. Caird Lang. & Imagery of Bible viii. 152 In a living metaphor, although both speaker and hearer are aware that vehicle and tenor are distinct entities, they are not grasped as two but as one. |
2. † a. The action or fact of holding on or continuing; continuance, duration. Obs.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vi. i. (Bodl. MS.), Þe age is of a man notȝ elles is but tenour and during of kinde vertues. 1502 Ord. Crysten Men v. iv. (1506) 393 The melodye of the glorye of the blessyd shall not haue tenoure yf the paynes of the dampned were not eternall. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. i. i. i. v. (1651) 12 'Tis most absurd..for any mortal man to look for a perpetual tenor of happiness in his life. a 1694 Tillotson Serm. (1742) IV. 539 Let not a perpetual tenor of health and pleasure soften and dissolve your spirits. |
b. Continuous progress, course, movement (of action, etc.); way of proceeding, procedure.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. viii. ii. (Tollem. MS.), Heuen with his roundnesse and cerclis forsakeþ nouȝt, noþer leueþ þe sadde tenor of his ordre. 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. vii. 47 Ne ought mote make him change his wonted tenor. 1676 Hale Contempl. i. 400 The constant tenour of a just, virtuous, and pious life. 1750 Gray Elegy 76 Along the cool sequester'd vale of life They kept the noiseless tenour of their way. 1784 Johnson Let. to Mrs. Thrale 26 June, Of doing good a continual tenour of distress allowed him few opportunities. 1814 Cary Dante's Inf. x. 133 She of thy life The future tenour will to thee unfold. 1865 Seeley Ecce Homo iv. (ed. 8) 29 The contrast between Christ's pretensions and the homely tenour of his life. |
| β 1720 W. Gibson Diet. Horses xii. (1731) 185 A continued easy Motion, and constant Tenure in Feeding. |
c. The length of time that a bill is drawn to run before presentation for payment.
| 1866 Crump Banking v. 100 The tenor [of foreign bills]..depends upon a variety of circumstances, and may be extended to almost any period, provided the parties thereto are agreed. Ibid. 101 The term ‘usance’..denotes the customary tenor at which bills are drawn. |
3. Quality, character, nature; condition, state. † a. in physical sense; in early use esp. quality of tone (cf. 4). Obs.
| 1530 Palsgr. 47 The redar shall sounde them all under one tenour, and never rest upon them nor lyft up his voice. 1595 Spenser Epithal. 9 Your string could soone to sadder tenor turne. 1618 Bp. Hall Serm. v. 103 There can be no harmony, where all the strings or voices are of one tenor. 1725 Bradley's Fam. Dict. s.v. Elm, The Tenor of the Grain makes it also fit for all Kinds of Carved-Work. 1729 G. Shelvocke Artillery ii. 90 The Air in them must be of the same Tenor with the circumambient Air. |
b. in non-physical sense: the way in which a thing continues; esp. habitual condition of mind. Now rare or merged in 2 b.
| 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. v. (Arb.) 163 No fault or blemish, to confound the tennors of the stiles for that cause. 1697 Dryden æneid xii. 305 Nor shake the steadfast tenour of my Mind. 1756 Burke Subl. & B. ii. viii, The senses, strongly affected in some one manner, cannot quickly change their tenour. 1831 Carlyle Misc. (1857) II. 190 Spiritual, of calm tenour. |
II. 4. Mus. a. The adult male voice intermediate between the bass and the counter-tenor or alto, usually ranging from the octave below middle C to the A above it; also, the part sung by such a voice, being the next above the bass in vocal part-music.
So called app. because the melody or canto fermo was formerly alloted to this part.
| 1388 [see counter-tenor 1 b]. c 1430 Lydg. Minor Poems (Percy Soc.) 54 Treble meene and tenor discordyng as I gesse. c 1460 Wisdom 620 in Macro Plays 55 Mynde. A tenowur to yow bothe I brynge;..Wyll. And, but a trebull I owt wrynge, The deuell hym spede, þat myrthe exyled! 1530 Palsgr. 280/1 Tenour a parte in pricke songe, teneur. 1597 Morley Introd. Mus. ii. 100 You haue your plainsong changed from parte to part, firste in the treble, next in the tenor, lastlie in the base. 1638–56 Cowley Davideis i. Wks. (1669) 13 Water and Air he for the Tenor chose, Earth made the Base, the Treble Flame arose. a 1791 Wesley Wks. (1872) VIII. 319 When they [singers] would teach a tune to the congregation, they must sing only the tenor. 1873 Hale In His Name vi. 49 The voice was a perfectly clear and pure tenor. |
b. A singer with a tenor voice; one who sings the tenor part; a tenor singer.
| ? c 1475 Sqr. lowe Degre 782 Than shall ye go to your euensong, With tenours and trebles a mong. 1552 Huloet, Tenor, or he that singeth a tenor, succentor. 1616 Cheque Bk. Chapel Royal (Camden) 9 The next place that shall..fall voyd by the deathe of any tenor. 1821 Byron Juan iv. lxxxvii, The tenor's voice is spoilt by affectation. 1884 F. M. Crawford Rom. Singer i, He asked me if I would not let him educate that young tenor. |
c. = tenor bell: see B. 1. second tenor (quot. 1541), the next bell to the tenor. Also (quot. 1562) applied to a string of tenor pitch in an instrument, as a harp.
| 1541 Ludlow Churchw. Acc. (Camden) 7 Payde..for mendynge the whele of ye secounde tenor..ij d. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 186 Which string..wouldst thou..harpe on. Not the base..Nor the standyng tennor... Nor the counter tennor. a 1627 Middleton Mayor Queenb. v. i, Let the Bells ring... 'Las the Tenor's broken, ring out the Treble. 1909 Daily Chron. 1 Oct. 7/2 The present ‘tenor’, as the deepest bell of a peal is always called, was cast here in 1738. |
d. A name for the tenor violin or viola.
| 1785 Daily Universal Register 1 Jan. 3/2 (Advt.), Mr. Giardini's capital old Violins, Tenors, and Violoncellos for sale. 1833 [see alto n.2 5]. 1836 Dubourg Violin i. (1878) 11 The tenor, or viol da braccia, was larger than the modern tenor, or viola. 1883 H. R. Haweis in Gentl. Mag. July 48 He learns the violon⁓cello or tenor. 1884 Girl's Own Paper Nov. 21/2 The viola is sometimes called the tenor, but the former is the preferable name. |
e. ellipt. for tenor saxophone, sense B. 1 below.
| 1876 [see alto n.2 6]. 1927 Melody Maker Aug. 738 (Advt.), The manufacturers..have been hailed as the saviours of Tenor Saxophonists through their innovation of the astounding B♭ tenor with the extra automatic octave note. 1952 [see baritone]. 1975 [see saxist]. |
B. attrib. or adj., and Comb. (in sense 4 above).
1. attrib. or adj. Applied to a voice, part, instrument, string, etc. of the pitch described in sense 4 above, or intermediate between bass and alto. tenor banjo: see banjo 1; tenor bell, the largest bell of a peal or set; tenor C, the note an octave below middle C, being the lowest note of a tenor voice; tenor clarinet, an alto clarinet pitched in F; also, one who plays this instrument; tenor clef, the C clef when placed upon the fourth line of the stave; tenor cor: see cor3; tenor drum: see drum n.1 1 b; tenor horn = althorn; tenor sax, tenor saxophone, a member of the saxophone family intermediate between the alto and the baritone, usu. pitched in B flat; also, one who plays this instrument; hence tenor saxist, tenor sax-man, tenor saxophonist; tenor violin († tenor viol), the viola.
| 1522 MS. Acc. St. John's Hosp., Canterb., For a bawdryk to the tenoure bell. 1597 Morley Introd. Mus. i. 21 In the Tenor part of the Gloria of his Masse Aue Maris stella. 1609 B. Jonson Masque Queenes Wks. (1616) 964 That most excellent tenor voyce. 1662 Playford Skill Mus. (1674) 99 The Tenor-Viol is an excellent inward Part. a 1670 Hacket Abp. Williams ii. §33 (1693) 30 The Bishop himself bearing the Tenour part among them often. 1802 Tenor violin [see alto- 1]. 1806 J. W. Callcott Mus. Gram. ii. 10 The Tenor Clef is used for the middle voices of men. 1838–9 F. A. Kemble Resid. Georgia (1863) 127 Their voices seem oftener tenor than any other quality. 1859, etc. Tenor horn [see althorn]. 1865 C. Mandel Mandel's Syst. Mus. xvi. 68 There are various kinds of Saxophones. The smallest, or Soprano Saxophone, is in B flat... The..Tenor Saxophone is an octave lower than the Soprano Saxophone. 1879 Grove Dict. Mus. I. 362/2 In F we have the tenor clarinet. 1926 Whiteman & McBride Jazz ix. 193 We have computed..that one tenor saxophone equals eight violas. 1927 Tenor saxophonist [see sense 4 e]. 1934 S. R. Nelson All about Jazz vi. 127 A brilliant tenor sax was unmistakable. 1938 D. Baker Young Man with Horn i. iv. 28 There were five men in Jeff's band—a tenor clarinet, a trombone, a trumpet, traps, and a piano. 1954 Grove's Dict. Mus. (ed. 5) II. 326/2 The higher-pitched of the two [alto clarinets] was long known as the ‘tenor clarinet’ in England. Ibid. VIII. 809/1 The true Tenor Violin was the alto of the viola da braccio family... The gradual suppression of this instrument in the 18th century was a disaster: neither the lower register of the viola nor the upper register of the violoncello can give its effect. 1954, etc. Tenor saxophone [see saxophone n. 1]. 1955 Keepnews & Grauer Pict. Hist. Jazz x. 110 Key members included tenor sax Andy Brown. 1955 Tenor saxist [see bassist 2]. 1955 Tenor sax-man [see sax-man s.v. sax n.2 3]. 1958 T. Hall in P. Gammond Decca Bk. Jazz xix. 229 He was mainly featured on an E-flat tenor-horn, which produced a mellophone-like sound. 1963 Listener 7 Feb. 264/1 Two virtuoso tenor sax players. 1972 Guardian 4 Feb. 10/5 No one strove harder than the tenor saxist John Coltrane. 1979 Country Life 12 July 95/2 A..solo by tenor saxophonist Steve Marcus. 1979 Listener 4 Oct. 461/3 Charlie Parker..plays tenor-sax on the Miles Davis set. |
2. Comb., as (sense 4 d) tenor-maker, (4 e) tenor-man, tenor player, tenor solo, tenor soloist, tenor style, (4 c) tenor-wheel.
| 1648–9 in Swayne Sarum Churchw. Acc. (1896) 219 Mending y⊇ Tenor Wheele—1 s. 1836 Dubourg Violin ix. (1878) 266 Martin Hoffman and Hunger, both of Leipsic, were excellent tenor-makers. 1928 Melody Maker Feb. 201/2 Quite a few successful tenor players. 1935 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Nov. 38/2 Tenor-men like Hawkins or Fletcher Henderson, are stars in the hot sky. 1943 P. E. Miller Yearbk. Popular Music 8/2 He borrowed a tenor from a fellow musician, sat in on a jam session, and from that point forward became a hot tenorman. 1958 R. Horricks in P. Gammond Decca Bk. Jazz ix. 118 The prominent tenor soloists outshone even those of the New York scene. 1959 ‘F. Newton’ Jazz Scene ii. 35 A fine tenor player in the Parker tradition. 1962 Melody Maker 21 July 7/3 The perfect tenor style for Dixieland jazz. 1966 Crescendo Dec. 9/2 Good clarinet, trumpet and tenor solos. 1977 J. Wainwright Do Nothin' viii. 125 Tenor men are not that hard to find. |
Hence tenor v.1 intr. (with it), to sing tenor; ˈtenoring ppl. a.; also ˈtenorless a., having no tenor or purport.
| 1893 Scribner's Mag. XIV. 61 A tame cornet tenored it throatily Of beer-pots and spittoons. 1810 Bentham Packing (1821) 265 The purely conjectural, tenorless, uncognoscible, and impostrous state of unwritten, alias common law. 1905 H. G. Wells Mod. Utopia iv. 127 It is not only such gross and palpable cases as our blond and tenoring friend. 1930 ― Autocr. Mr. Parham ii. iii. 119 ‘But,’ said Mr. Mountain in tenoring remonstrance to Sir Bussy, ‘doesn't this evening satisfy you, sir?’ 1934 ― Exper. Autobiogr. II. viii. 602 Bland was a thick-set, broad-faced aggressive man..with a tenoring voice. |
▪ II. tenor, n.2 Now dial.
Also 5 tenowre, 8–9 tenner.
Corrupted form of tenon n.1 tenor-saw = tenon-saw. Hence tenor v.2 = tenon v.
| a 1485 Promp. Parv. MS. S. (1908) 476 Tenowre, knytting of a balk or odyre lyk tymbre, cenaculum. 1747 Hooson Miner's Dict. Q iij, Instead of a Collar made on the Forks, we make Tenners, so that the Forks are Tennered at both ends, and the Sliders are Slotted at both Ends to receive the Forks. 1851 W. Anderson Rhymes (1867) 116 (E.D.D.) You're just as rough's a tenor saw. 1877 N.W. Linc. Gloss., Tenner, a tenon. |
▪ III. tenor
obs. form of tenure.