teso

Forms

teso (feminine tesa, masculine plural tesi, feminine plural tese, superlative tesissimo)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin tēnsus (“stretched, taut”), the past participle of tendō (“to stretch”); in Italian it is the past participle of tendere, used as an adjective.^[2][1][3][4] In Latin this participle was a later, analogical form beside the older tentus.^[1][5] DELI notes that derivatives of the participle that keep the cluster /ns/, such as tensione, are learned; the popular word has lost the /n/, and tenso is its learned doublet.^[2][1]

DEI places the Latin participle in Italy and the western Romance area; it is Sicilian tisu, Spanish tieso (“stiff, taut”) and Portuguese teso, and Körting derives French toise, a measure of length, from it.^[1][3][6]

The Latin verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to stretch”), the root of teneō (“to hold”) as well.^[5][2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is in the statute of the wool guild of Siena (1298–1309), in the sense “stretched, spread out”: cloth tesi ne la città di Siena (“stretched in the city of Siena”).^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian teso was used of things pulled tight or spread out.^[8][9] Dante sees the devils coming con l'ali tese (“with outstretched wings”) and of the viol and harp in tempra tesa / di molte corde (“strung taut with many strings”), and Boccaccio has two towels hung out at a window.^[10][9][8]

The sense “strained, tense” came in the 19th century: Ugolini records situazione tesa “a tense situation” in 1855, and Tommaseo–Bellini in 1879 judges it very French.^[2] Avere i nervi tesi “to have one's nerves on edge” is recorded in 1891 and rapporti tesi “strained relations” in 1922.^[2] Later uses include a gamba tesa for a foul with a stiff leg in football, and in phonetics a vowel articulated with tense muscles.^[11][12]

Timeline

• 1298–1309 – The statute of the wool guild of Siena uses teso “stretched”.^[2]
• 1855 – Ugolini records situazione tesa.^[2]
• 1877 – Fanfani and Arlia discuss the same phrase.^[3]
• 1879 – Tommaseo–Bellini calls it very French.^[2]
• 1891 – Avere i nervi tesi is recorded.^[2]
• 1922 – Zingarelli records rapporti tesi.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. taut, pulled tight, under tension: una fune tesa “a taut rope”.^[13][14][4]
2. Tensed, stiff, held straight: il braccio teso “the arm held straight”; of a face, drawn.^[13][14][12]
3. (figurative) tense, nervous, anxious; of a situation or relations, strained.^[13][14][10]
4. Stretched out, held out: la mano tesa “the outstretched hand”;^[13][10][12] orecchie tese “ears pricked”.^[13][10][12]
5. Aimed, directed at a goal (with a): un progetto teso a ridurre i costi “a plan aimed at cutting costs”.^[13][12]
6. (literary) Spread out, unfolded: ali tese “outspread wings”.^[13][10]
7. (nautical) Of wind, blowing strongly and steadily.^[12][13]
8. (phonetics) Tense, articulated with tense muscles.^[12][11]

Noun

1. (regional) A screen of woven reeds used as a shelter, especially in lagoons.^[12]

Word family

• tesare
• tesa
• iperteso

Related words

• tendere
• tenso
• tensione
• Latin tensus

Usage notes

DiPI gives /ˈtezo/ as the neutral pronunciation and also records /ˈteso/.^[15][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3771
4. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
5. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
7. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 20, 977
10. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
12. ^ a b c d e f g h Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
14. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
15. ^ Canepari, Luciano, DiPI: Dizionario di pronuncia italiana, online ed., dipionline.it