Tenuity

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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.
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     4. Refinement; delicacy.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  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}, {slenderness}]
            [ant: {thickness}]
       2: the quality of lacking intensity or substance; "a shrill yet
          sweet tenuity of voice"- Nathaniel Hawthorne [syn: {feebleness}]
       3: a rarified quality; "the tenuity of the upper atmosphere"
          [syn: {rarity}, {low density}]