tenter
English
Etymology
Via Old French, perhaps from Latin tentorium.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈtɛn.təɹ/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- Rhymes: -ɛntə(ɹ)
Noun
tenter (plural tenters)
- A framework upon which cloth is stretched and dried.
- One who takes care of, or tends, machines in a factory; a kind of assistant foreman.
- (engineering) A kind of governor, or regulating device.
Translations
a framework upon which cloth is stretched and dried
one who takes care of, or tends, machines in a factory; a kind of assistant foreman
engineering: a kind of governor, or regulating device
Verb
tenter (third-person singular simple present tenters, present participle tentering, simple past and past participle tentered)
- (transitive) To stretch cloth on such a framework.
- (intransitive) To admit extension; to be stretchable.
- 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
- Woollen cloth will tenter, linen scarcely.
Derived terms
Translations
to stretch cloth on such a framework
|
to admit extension; to be stretchable
Anagrams
French
Etymology
Inherited from Middle French tenter, from Old French tempter, from Latin temptāre.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /tɑ̃.te/
Audio: (file)
Verb
tenter
- (with de for verbs) to attempt
- Synonyms: essayer, entreprendre
- L'ennemi tenta une attaque frontale.
- The enemy attempted a frontal attack.
- Le sultan tentait de se présenter comme un musulman pieux.
- The sultan attempted to present himself as a pious Muslim.
- to tempt
- Le serpent tenta Ève.
- The serpent tempted Eve.
- to be desirable or interesting to; to be something one feels like doing
- Ça te tente de prendre une bière?
- Do you feel like having a beer?
- J'ai tellement de devoirs à faire mais ça ne me tente pas.
- I have so much homework to do, but I don't feel like it.
Conjugation
Conjugation of tenter (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| infinitive | simple | tenter | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | tentant /tɑ̃.tɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | tenté /tɑ̃.te/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | tente /tɑ̃t/ |
tentes /tɑ̃t/ |
tente /tɑ̃t/ |
tentons /tɑ̃.tɔ̃/ |
tentez /tɑ̃.te/ |
tentent /tɑ̃t/ |
| imperfect | tentais /tɑ̃.tɛ/ |
tentais /tɑ̃.tɛ/ |
tentait /tɑ̃.tɛ/ |
tentions /tɑ̃.tjɔ̃/ |
tentiez /tɑ̃.tje/ |
tentaient /tɑ̃.tɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | tentai /tɑ̃.te/ |
tentas /tɑ̃.ta/ |
tenta /tɑ̃.ta/ |
tentâmes /tɑ̃.tam/ |
tentâtes /tɑ̃.tat/ |
tentèrent /tɑ̃.tɛʁ/ | |
| future | tenterai /tɑ̃.tʁe/ |
tenteras /tɑ̃.tʁa/ |
tentera /tɑ̃.tʁa/ |
tenterons /tɑ̃.tʁɔ̃/ |
tenterez /tɑ̃.tʁe/ |
tenteront /tɑ̃.tʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | tenterais /tɑ̃.tʁɛ/ |
tenterais /tɑ̃.tʁɛ/ |
tenterait /tɑ̃.tʁɛ/ |
tenterions /tɑ̃.tə.ʁjɔ̃/ |
tenteriez /tɑ̃.tə.ʁje/ |
tenteraient /tɑ̃.tʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior2 | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | tente /tɑ̃t/ |
tentes /tɑ̃t/ |
tente /tɑ̃t/ |
tentions /tɑ̃.tjɔ̃/ |
tentiez /tɑ̃.tje/ |
tentent /tɑ̃t/ |
| imperfect2 | tentasse /tɑ̃.tas/ |
tentasses /tɑ̃.tas/ |
tentât /tɑ̃.ta/ |
tentassions /tɑ̃.ta.sjɔ̃/ |
tentassiez /tɑ̃.ta.sje/ |
tentassent /tɑ̃.tas/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | tente /tɑ̃t/ |
— | tentons /tɑ̃.tɔ̃/ |
tentez /tɑ̃.te/ |
— | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
| 1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). | |||||||
Derived terms
- intentable (“unattemptable”)
- tentable (“attemptable”)
- tentant (“tempting”)
- tentatif (“tentative”)
- tentation (“temptation”)
- tentative (“attempt”)
- tenté (“tempted”)
- tenter Dieu (“to tempt God”)
- tenter le diable
- tenter le tout pour le tout
Further reading
- “tenter”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
Latin
Verb
tenter
- first-person singular present passive subjunctive of tentō
Norman
Etymology
Verb
tenter