tenue

See also: ténue, tènue, and tênue

English

Etymology

From French.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɪˈnjuː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

tenue (plural tenues)

1. bearing, carriage, deportment
2. mode of dress

Related terms

• tenue de ville

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French tenue.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /təˈny/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: te‧nue

Noun

tenue f or m or n (plural tenues, diminutive tenuetje n)

1. mode of dress, outfit (set of clothing, especially for a specific group, occasion or period)

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tə.ny/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

  (file)

• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

  (file)

• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

Noun

tenue f (plural tenues)

1. maintenance, upkeep
2. running (of a shop)
3. (music) holding, sustaining (of a note)
4. manners, (good) behaviour (UK) / behavior (US)
5. quality, standard
6. posture
7. (finance) performance
8. dress, appearance, outfit

Derived terms

• en tenue
• tenue d'Adam
• tenue d'Ève
• tenue de route

Participle

tenue f sg

1. feminine singular of tenu

Further reading

• “tenue”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Galician

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ten-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *tenh₂-

Proto-Indo-European *-us

Proto-Indo-European *ténh₂us

Proto-Italic *tən(a)us

Latin tenuislbor.

Galician tenue

Learned borrowing from Latin tenuis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈtɛnʊ̯ɪ]

Adjective

tenue m or f (plural tenues)

1. tenuous, weak
2. faint, dim

References

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “tenue”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Italian

Etymology

From Latin tenuis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛ.nu.e/, /ˈtɛ.nwe/
• Rhymes: -ɛnue, -ɛnwe
• Hyphenation: tè‧nu‧e, tè‧nue

Adjective

tenue m or f by sense (plural tenui)

1. soft (in colour/color)

   rosso tenue ― soft red

2. feeble (voice)
3. faint (sunlight)

   una tenue luce ― a faint light

4. (figurative) slight, slender (hopes etc.)

   un tenue desiderio ― a faint desire

Derived terms

• intestino tenue (“small intestine”)
• tenuemente
• tenuità

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈtɛ.nu.ɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈtɛː.nu.e]

Adjective

tenue

1. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of tenuis

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ten-der.?

Proto-Indo-European *tenh₂-

Proto-Indo-European *-us

Proto-Indo-European *ténh₂us

Proto-Italic *tən(a)us

Latin tenuislbor.

Spanish tenue

Learned borrowing from Latin tenuis. Cognate with English tenuous.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtenwe/ [ˈt̪e.nwe]
• Rhymes: -enwe
• Syllabification: te‧nue

Adjective

tenue m or f (masculine and feminine plural tenues)

1. tenuous, thin, weak
2. faint, dim, wispy, soft, subdued, pale

   Vio una luz tenue en la distancia.

   [She] saw a dim light off in the distance.

Related terms

• atenuar
• tenuemente

Further reading

• “tenue”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025