Tenesmic Te·nes"mic adjective (Medicine) Of or pertaining to tenesmus; characterized by tenesmus.

Tenesmus Te·nes"mus noun [ New Latin , from Greek ..., from ... to stretch: confer Latin tenesmos .] (Medicine) An urgent and distressing sensation, as if a discharge from the intestines must take place, although none can be effected; -- always referred to the lower extremity of the rectum. Vesical tenesmus , a similar sensation as to the evacuation of urine, referred to the region of the bladder.

Tenet Ten"et noun [ Latin tenet he holds, from tenere to hold. See Tenable .] Any opinion, principle, dogma, belief, or doctrine, which a person holds or maintains as true; as, the tenets of Plato or of Cicero.

That al animals of the land are in their kind in the sea, . . . is a tenet very questionable.

Sir T. Browne.

The religious tenets of his family he had early renounced with contempt.

Macaulay. Syn. -- Dogma; doctrine; opinion; principle; position. See Dogma .

Tenfold Ten"fold` adjective & adverb In tens; consisting of ten in one; ten times repeated.

The grisly Terror . . . grew tenfold
More dreadful and deform.

Milton.

Tenia Te"ni·a noun [ New Latin ] See Tænia .

Tenioid Te"ni·oid adjective See Tænoid .

Tennantite Ten"nant·ite noun [ Named after Smithson Tennant , an English chemist.] (Min.) A blackish lead- gray mineral, closely related to tetrahedrite. It is essentially a sulphide of arsenic and copper.

Tenné Ten`né" noun [ Confer Tawny .] (Her.) A tincture, rarely employed, which is considered as an orange color or bright brown. It is represented by diagonal lines from sinister to dexter, crossed by vertical lines.

Tennis Ten"nis noun [ Middle English tennes , tenies , tenyse ; of uncertain origin, perhaps from French tenez hold or take it, from tenir to hold (see Tenable ).] A play in which a ball is driven to and fro, or kept in motion by striking it with a racket or with the open hand. Shak.

His easy bow, his good stories, his style of dancing and playing tennis , . . . were familiar to all London.

Macaulay. Court tennis , the old game of tennis as played within walled courts of peculiar construction; -- distinguished from lawn tennis . -- Lawn tennis . See under Lawn , noun -- Tennis court , a place or court for playing the game of tennis. Shak.

Tennis Ten"nis transitive verb To drive backward and forward, as a ball in playing tennis. [ R.] Spenser.

Tenno Ten·no" noun [ Jap. tennō , from Chin. t'ien heaven + wang king.] Lit., King of Heaven; -- a title of the emperor of Japan as the head of the Shinto religion.

Tennu Ten"nu noun (Zoology) The tapir.

Tennysonian Ten`ny·so"ni·an adjective Of or pertaining to Alfred (Lord) Tennyson, the English poet (1809-92); resembling, or having some of the characteristics of, his poetry, as simplicity, pictorial quality, sensuousness, etc.

Tenon Ten"on noun [ French, from tenir to hold. See Tenable .] (Carp. & Join.) A projecting member left by cutting away the wood around it, and made to insert into a mortise, and in this way secure together the parts of a frame; especially, such a member when it passes entirely through the thickness of the piece in which the mortise is cut, and shows on the other side. Confer Tooth , Tusk . Tenon saw , a saw with a thin blade, usually stiffened by a brass or steel back, for cutting tenons. [ Corruptly written tenant saw .] Gwilt.

Tenon Ten"on transitive verb To cut or fit for insertion into a mortise, as the end of a piece of timber.

Tenonian Te·no"ni·an adjective (Anat.) Discovered or described by M. Tenon , a French anatomist. Tenonian capsule (Anat.) , a lymphatic space inclosed by a delicate membrane or fascia (the fascia of Tenon ) between the eyeball and the fat of the orbit; -- called also capsule of Tenon .

Tenonitis Ten`o·ni"tis noun [ New Latin , Greek te`nwn tendon + -itis .] (Medicine) Inflammation of a tendon.

Tenonitis Ten`o·ni"tis noun [ New Latin See Tenonian , -itis .] Inflammation of the Tenonian capsule.

Tenor Ten"or noun [ Latin , from tenere to hold; hence, properly, a holding on in a continued course: confer French teneur . See Tenable , and confer Tenor a kind of voice.] 1. A state of holding on in a continuous course; manner of continuity; constant mode; general tendency; course; career.

Along the cool sequestered vale of life
They kept the noiseless tenor of their away.

Gray. 2. That course of thought which holds on through a discourse; the general drift or course of thought; purport; intent; meaning; understanding.

When it [ the bond] is paid according to the tenor .

Shak.

Does not the whole tenor of the divine law positively require humility and meekness to all men?

Spart. 3. Stamp; character; nature.

This success would look like chance, if it were perpetual, and always of the same tenor .

Dryden. 4. (Law) An exact copy of a writing, set forth in the words and figures of it. It differs from purport , which is only the substance or general import of the instrument. Bouvier. 5. [ French ténor , Latin tenor , properly, a holding; -- so called because the tenor was the voice which took and held the principal part, the plain song, air, or tune, to which the other voices supplied a harmony above and below: confer Italian tenore .] (Mus.) (a) The higher of the two kinds of voices usually belonging to adult males; hence, the part in the harmony adapted to this voice; the second of the four parts in the scale of sounds, reckoning from the base, and originally the air, to which the other parts were auxillary. (b) A person who sings the tenor, or the instrument that play it. Old Tenor , New Tenor , Middle Tenor , different descriptions of paper money, issued at different periods, by the American colonial governments in the last century.

Tenorrhaphy Te·nor"rha·phy noun [ Greek te`nwn tendon + -rhaphy .] (Surg.) Suture of a tendon.

Tenositis Ten`o·si"tis noun [ New Latin , from Greek te`nwn tendon + -itis .] (Medicine) Inflammation of a tendon.

Tenosynovitis Ten`o·syn`o·vi"tis noun [ New Latin , from Greek te`nwn a tendon + English synovitis .] (Medicine) Inflammation of the synovial sheath enveloping a tendon.

Tenosynovitis Ten`o·syn`o·vi"tis noun [ New Latin , from Greek te`nwn tendon + synovitis .] (Medicine) Inflammation of the synovial sheath of a tendon.

Tenotome Ten"o·tome noun (Surg.) A slender knife for use in the operation of tenotomy.

Tenotomy Te·not"o·my noun [ Greek te`nwn a tendon + te`mnein to cut.] (Surg.) The division of a tendon, or the act of dividing a tendon.

Tenpenny Ten"pen·ny adjective Valued or sold at ten pence; as, a tenpenny cake. See 2d Penny , noun

Tenpenny Ten"pen·ny adjective Denoting a size of nails. See 1st Penny .

Tenpins Ten"pins noun A game resembling ninepins, but played with ten pins. See Ninepins . [ U. S.]

Tenrec Ten"rec noun [ From the native name: confer French tanrac , tanrec , tandrec .] (Zoology) A small insectivore ( Centetes ecaudatus ), native of Madagascar, but introduced also into the islands of Bourbon and Mauritius; -- called also tanrec . The name is applied to other allied genera. See Tendrac .

Tense Tense noun [ Old French tens , properly, time, French temps time, tense. See Temporal of time, and confer Thing .] (Gram.) One of the forms which a verb takes by inflection or by adding auxiliary words, so as to indicate the time of the action or event signified; the modification which verbs undergo for the indication of time. » The primary simple tenses are three: those which express time past , present , and future ; but these admit of modifications, which differ in different languages.

Tense Tense adjective [ Latin tensus , past participle of tendere to stretch. See Tend to move, and confer Toise .] Stretched tightly; strained to stiffness; rigid; not lax; as, a tense fiber.

The temples were sunk, her forehead was tense , and a fatal paleness was upon her.

Goldsmith. -- Tense"ly , adverb -- Tense"ness , noun

Tensibility Ten`si·bil"i·ty noun The quality or state of being tensible; tensility.

Tensible Ten"si·ble adjective [ See Tense , adjective ] Capable of being extended or drawn out; ductile; tensible.

Gold . . . is likewise the most flexible and tensible .

Bacon.

Tensile Ten"sile adjective [ See Tense , adjective ] 1. Of or pertaining to extension; as, tensile strength. 2. Capable of extension; ductile; tensible. Bacon.

Tensiled Ten"siled adjective Made tensile. [ R.]

Tensility Ten·sil"i·ty noun The quality or state of being tensile, or capable of extension; tensibility; as, the tensility of the muscles. Dr. H. Mere.

Tension Ten"sion noun [ Latin tensio , from tendere , tensum , to stretch: confer French tension . See Tense , adjective ] 1. The act of stretching or straining; the state of being stretched or strained to stiffness; the state of being bent strained; as, the tension of the muscles, tension of the larynx. 2. Fig.: Extreme strain of mind or excitement of feeling; intense effort. 3. The degree of stretching to which a wire, cord, piece of timber, or the like, is strained by drawing it in the direction of its length; strain. Gwilt. 4. (Mech.) The force by which a part is pulled when forming part of any system in equilibrium or in motion; as, the tension of a srting supporting a weight equals that weight. 5. A device for checking the delivery of the thread in a sewing machine, so as to give the stitch the required degree of tightness. 6. (Physics) Expansive force; the force with which the particles of a body, as a gas, tend to recede from each other and occupy a larger space; elastic force; elasticity; as, the tension of vapor; the tension of air. 7. (Electricity) The quality in consequence of which an electric charge tends to discharge itself, as into the air by a spark, or to pass from a body of greater to one of less electrical potential. It varies as the quantity of electricity upon a given area. Tension brace , or Tension member (Engineering) , a brace or member designed to resist tension, or subjected to tension, in a structure. -- Tension rod (Engineering) , an iron rod used as a tension member to strengthen timber or metal framework, roofs, or the like.

Tensioned Ten"sioned adjective Extended or drawn out; subjected to tension. "A highly tensioned string." Tyndall.

Tensity Ten"si·ty noun The quality or state of being tense, or strained to stiffness; tension; tenseness.

Tensive Ten"sive adjective [ Confer French tensif . See Tense , adjective ] Giving the sensation of tension, stiffness, or contraction.

A tensive pain from distension of the parts.

Floyer.

Tensor Ten"sor noun [ New Latin See Tension .] 1. (Anat.) A muscle that stretches a part, or renders it tense. 2. (Geom.) The ratio of one vector to another in length, no regard being had to the direction of the two vectors; -- so called because considered as a stretching factor in changing one vector into another. See Versor .

Tensure Ten"sure noun [ Latin tensura . See Tension .] Tension. [ Obsolete] Bacon.

Tent Tent noun [ Spanish tinto , properly, deep-colored, from Latin tinctus , past participle of tingere to dye. See Tinge , and confer Tint , Tinto .] A kind of wine of a deep red color, chiefly from Galicia or Malaga in Spain; -- called also tent wine , and tinta .

Tent Tent noun [ Confer Attent , noun ] 1. Attention; regard, care. [ Obsolete or Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Lydgate. 2. Intention; design. [ Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

Tent Tent transitive verb To attend to; to heed; hence, to guard; to hinder. [ Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Halliwell.

Tent Tent transitive verb [ Old French tenter . See Tempt .] To probe or to search with a tent; to keep open with a tent; as, to tent a wound. Used also figuratively.

I'll tent him to the quick.

Shak.

Tent Tent noun [ French tente . See Tent to probe.] (Surg.) (a) A roll of lint or linen, or a conical or cylindrical piece of sponge or other absorbent, used chiefly to dilate a natural canal, to keep open the orifice of a wound, or to absorb discharges. (b) A probe for searching a wound.

The tent that searches
To the bottom of the worst.

Shak.

Tent Tent noun [ Middle English tente , French tente , Late Latin tenta , from Latin tendere , tentum , to stretch. See Tend to move, and confer Tent a roll of lint.] 1. A pavilion or portable lodge consisting of skins, canvas, or some strong cloth, stretched and sustained by poles, -- used for sheltering persons from the weather, especially soldiers in camp.

Within his tent , large as is a barn.

Chaucer. 2. (Her.) The representation of a tent used as a bearing. Tent bed , a high-post bedstead curtained with a tentlike canopy. -- Tent caterpillar (Zoology) , any one of several species of gregarious caterpillars which construct on trees large silken webs into which they retreat when at rest. Some of the species are very destructive to fruit trees. The most common American species is the larva of a bombycid moth ( Clisiocampa Americana ). Called also lackery caterpillar , and webworm .

Tent Tent intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Tented ; present participle & verbal noun Tenting .] To lodge as a tent; to tabernacle. Shak.

We 're tenting to-night on the old camp ground.

W. Kittredge.

Tentacle Ten"ta·cle noun [ New Latin tentaculum , from Latin tentare to handle, feel: confer French tentacule . See Tempt .] (Zoology) A more or less elongated process or organ, simple or branched, proceeding from the head or cephalic region of invertebrate animals, being either an organ of sense, prehension, or motion. Tentacle sheath (Zoology) , a sheathlike structure around the base of the tentacles of many mollusks.