Etymologically
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tenuis

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈtɛ.nu.ɪs], [ˈtɛn.wɪs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈtɛː.nu.is][1]

Forms

tenuis (neuter tenue, comparative tenuïor, superlative tenuissimus, adverb tenuiter); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *tn̥(a)u-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *tn̥h₂-(e)u- (“thin”), a u-stem adjective made into an i-stem in Latin.[2][1] Cognate with Old Irish tanae (“thin”), Welsh teneu (“thin”), Sanskrit तनु (tanú, “thin”), Ancient Greek ταναός (tanaós, “long, stretched”) and English thin.[2][3] The root *tenh₂- may be an extended form of *ten- “to stretch”, as in teneō and tendō.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus,[2] who asks a girl whether she can spin a fine thread.[3][4] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant fine, slender or thin, as of threads and membranes, thin between two surfaces, of bodies lean, of strips and paths narrow, of soil and drops fine, and of air rare.[3] Figuratively it meant slight, poor or of humble rank, and of style plain or simple.[6][4]

Döderlein groups it with exīlis and macer for leanness.[7] English took tenuis as a phonetic term, and formed English tenuous from it in the 1590s, attenuāre gave English attenuate.[1][6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of spinning a fine thread.[3][5]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato tells how to make a thin base of dough.[3][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero says nature has protected the eyes with very thin membranes.[4][5]
  • 1590s – English tenuous is recorded.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Fine, slender, thin.[3]
  2. Thin (between surfaces), (of the body) lean.[3]
  3. Narrow.[3]
  4. Fine (of particles), (of air) rare.[3]
  5. Slight, poor; humble.[6][4]
  6. (of style) Plain, simple.[4]

Word family

  • pertenuis
  • praetenuis
  • subtenuis
  • tenuiārius
  • tenuiculus
  • tenuitās
  • tenuō
  • tenuiter
  • tener
  • English tenuous
  • English attenuate

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper