tenuis

1 definition found

tenuis - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Tenuis \Ten"u*is\, n.; pl. Tenues. [NL., fr. L. tenuis fine,
     thin. See Tenuous.] (Gr. Gram.)
     One of the three surd mutes [kappa], [pi], [tau]; -- so
     called in relation to their respective middle letters, or
     medials, [gamma], [beta], [delta], and their aspirates,
     [chi], [phi], [theta]. The term is also applied to the
     corresponding letters and articulate elements in other
     languages.
     [1913 Webster]