tenor1

 
Pronunciation: /ˈtɛnə/

noun

  • 1a singing voice between baritone and alto or countertenor, the highest of the ordinary adult male range: the Serenade for tenor, horn, and strings [as modifier]: he had a good tenor voice
  • a singer with a tenor voice.
  • a part written for a tenor voice: several members of the party had been able to put in the tenor and the bass
  • 2 [usually as modifier] an instrument, especially a saxophone, trombone, tuba, or viol, of the second or third lowest pitch in its family: a tenor sax
  • (in full tenor bell) the largest and deepest bell of a ring or set.

Origin:

late Middle English: via Old French from medieval Latin, based on tenere 'to hold'; so named because the tenor part was allotted (and therefore ‘held’) the melody

Spelling help

Spell tenor with a single n: the ending is -or.