1. (Musique) Chanteur ou voix dont la tessiture atteint aux notes les plus hautes (sauf haute-contre).
2. Au fig. un personnage qui, dans son genre, est une sommité. Un ténor du barreau.
3. Instrument dont la tessiture correspond ŕ celle de la voix de ténor. Flűte soprano, alto, ténor, basse.
ETYM Latin, from tenere to hold; hence, properly, a holding on in a continued course: cf. French teneur. Related to Tenable, Tenor a kind of voice.
1. An adult male with a tenor voice.r />
2. Pervading note of an utterance; SYN. strain.
3. The adult male singing voice above baritone; SYN. tenor voice.
4. The pitch range of the highest male voice.
In music, the highest range of adult male voice when not using falsetto, approximately C3–A5. It is the preferred voice for operatic heroic roles. Exponents are Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras.