tensa Latin · revision 34120

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=derivation|attested=end of 2nd/beginning of 1st century BC, Titinius|origins=ine-pro *ten-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈtẽː.sa]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈtɛn.sa]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''tēnsa''' ''f'' (genitive tēnsae); first declension^(Wiktionary)

+ Also spelled ''thēnsa''.^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably [[der|la|teneō|t=to hold]]: de Vaan lists it among the derivatives of that verb,^(de Vaan 2008) while the OLD tentatively connects it with [[m|la|tendō|t=to stretch]].^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010) Wiktionary reconstructs [[itc-pro|*ten-s-ā]].^(Wiktionary) Both verbs continue the root [[ine-pro|*ten-|t=to stretch]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan and Köbler record it first in the comic poet Titinius,^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) who uses it of a carriage in general: ''vende tensam atque mulos'', “sell the carriage and the mules”.^(Georges 1913)^(Conte 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Classical Latin it is the sacred [[m|en|wagon]] on which the images of the gods were drawn in procession to the games of the Circus.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) Festus, quoting Sinnius Capito, describes it as the vehicle that carried the emblems of the gods to their couch in the Circus, and notes that one in Titinius was of ivory, others of silver.^(Lewis & Short 1879) Cicero speaks of the street of the ''tensae'' and the procession,^(Georges 1913)^(Gaffiot 2016) and Livy and Suetonius use it with verbs of leading or escorting.^(Georges 1913) A Greek–Latin glossary renders it “chariot of the gods”.^(Lewis & Short 1879) In Medieval Latin the same spelling also stands for a tent, as a form of ''tenda'', and for a payment due to a lord for protection.^(Du Cange 1883)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * end of 2nd/beginning of 1st century BC – Titinius uses it of a carriage.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)^(Georges 1913)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero names the street of the ''tensae'' in the Verrine speeches.^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 59 BC–17 AD – Livy has ''tensās dūcere''.^(Georges 1913)^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius has ''tensās dēdūcere''.^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * after 1031 – Helgaud's life of King Robert of France gives the size of a building in ''tensae'', a length measure.^(Du Cange 1883)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A sacred [[m|en|carriage]] on which the images of the gods were carried in procession to the Circus games.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Conte 2010)

+ # A [[m|en|wagon]] in general.^(Georges 1913)^(Conte 2010)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A [[m|en|toise]], a measure of length; a fixed quantity of candles.^(Niermeyer 1976)^(Du Cange 1883)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tensārium]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[teneō]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Niermeyer derives the medieval measure ''tensa'' (also ''tesa'', ''teisa'', ''toisa'') from [[tendō]].^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}