tenon

Forms

tenōn m (genitive tenontis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek τένων (ténōn, “sinew, tendon”).^[1][2][3] Köbler connects it with the root Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to stretch”).^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler records it from Celsus (14–37 AD),^[2] meaning a tendon.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It remained a medical word for a tendon or sinew, used by Caelius Aurelianus and Cassius Felix^[3][5] and in the Latin Hegesippus,^[6] with the Greek accusative plural tenontas.^[3] Medieval anatomists in Britain debated whether it was the same as a ligament, and one of them warns that a puncture of the tendons brings on spasm.^[7]

Timeline

• 14–37 AD – Recorded from Celsus.^[2]
• 5th century AD – Caelius Aurelianus uses it for a tendon.^[3][5][2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (anatomy) A tendon, sinew.^[3][5][7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press