tenor

Definition

A musical range or section higher than bass and lower than alto.

Etymology

From Middle English tenour, from Anglo-Norman tenour, from Old French tenor (“substance, contents, meaning, sense; tenor part in music”), from Latin tenor (“course, continuance; holder”), from teneō (“I hold”). In music, from the notion of the one who holds the melody, as opposed to the countertenor.

Example Sentences

• "Colonel Walton, who had striven to check the conversation at moments when he became conscious of its tenor, now gladly engaged his guest on other and more legitimate topics."
• "It is the conſciouſneſs of this merited approbation and eſteem which is alone capable of ſupporting the agent in this tenour of conduct."
• "Along the cool sequestered vale of life / They kept the noiseless tenor of their way."