tenor

Definitions

From Latin tenor 'a holding on, an uninterrupted course' (ten 'hold' + -or). The 'continuous course' sense gives us the tenor of a speech — its sustained general drift. The musical sense is the same idea: in medieval polyphony the tenor was the voice that 'held' the main melody steady while others wove around it. One held the line; the others decorated.

Why It Means This

Tenor splits into two seemingly unrelated meanings — a singing voice and the 'gist' of something — but both grow from the same Latin root: a continuous holding. The tenor of a text is the steady thread of meaning running through it; the musical tenor was historically the voice that held the fixed melody. Once you see 'the part that holds steady,' both senses click together.

Common Collocations

• 1.tenor voice男高音嗓音
• 2.general tenor总体基调
• 3.lead tenor首席男高音
• 4.the tenor of the discussion讨论的基调

Example Sentences

• 1.

  He sang the tenor part in the cathedral choir.

• 2.

  The whole tenor of the meeting suddenly turned hostile.

• 3.

  Her letter had a calm, reassuring tenor.