tenuity

2 definitions found

tenuity - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Tenuity \Te*nu"i*ty\, n. [L. tenuitas, from tenuis thin: cf. F.
     t['e]nuit['e]. See Tenuous.]
     1. The quality or state of being tenuous; thinness, applied
        to a broad substance; slenderness, applied to anything
        that is long; as, the tenuity of a leaf; the tenuity of a
        hair.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Rarily; rareness; thinness, as of a fluid; as, the tenuity
        of the air; the tenuity of the blood. --Bacon.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Poverty; indigence. [Obs.] --Eikon Basilike.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. Refinement; delicacy.
        [1913 Webster]

tenuity - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  tenuity
      n 1: relatively small dimension through an object as opposed to
           its length or width; "the tenuity of a hair"; "the thinness
           of a rope" [syn: thinness, tenuity, slenderness]
           [ant: thickness]
      2: a rarified quality; "the tenuity of the upper atmosphere"
         [syn: rarity, tenuity, low density]
      3: the quality of lacking intensity or substance; "a shrill yet
         sweet tenuity of voice"- Nathaniel Hawthorne [syn:
         feebleness, tenuity]