tenor

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the adult male singing voice above baritone
  2. noun the pitch range of the highest male voice
  3. noun an adult male with a tenor voice

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 (“to hold”). In music, from the notion of the one who holds the melody, as opposed to the countertenor.

In classic literature

Synonyms

tenor voice

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