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tenor1

Syllabification: (ten·or)
Pronunciation: /ˈtenər/

Translate tenor | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of tenor

noun

  • a singing voice between baritone and alto or countertenor, the highest of the ordinary adult male range.
  • a singer with a tenor voice.
  • a part written for a tenor voice.
  • [usually as modifier] an instrument, especially a saxophone, trombone, tuba, or viol, of the lowest pitch but one 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

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

tenor in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of tenor in the British & World English dictionary