tenet

noun

te·​net ˈte-nət How to pronounce tenet (audio)
 also  ˈtē-nət
: a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true
especially : one held in common by members of an organization, movement, or profession

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Tenet holds a centuries-long tenure in the English language, but its hometown is Latin. In that language, tenet is a form of the verb tenēre ("to hold") and means "s/he holds." Tenet was borrowed into English around 1600, probably because of use of the word in Latin writings to introduce text giving a principle or doctrine held by a person or group, such as a particular church or sect. The word’s English use today seems clearly linked: "a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true, and especially one held in common by members of an organization, movement, or profession." Note that the similar-sounding word tenant is also from tenēre; it arrived in the 1300s and typically refers today to someone who rents or leases a house, apartment, etc., from a landlord. (Be careful not to use tenant where you want tenet.) Tenure is a tenēre descendant too.

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Tenets vs. Tenants

Thanks to its confusingly similar pronunciation, tenant (“occupant, land-holder”) is sometimes erroneously used in place of tenet (“principle, doctrine”). Consider this example:

One of the ancient tenants of the Buddist [sic] belief is, “He who sits still, wins” –Police, January/February 1968

You will probably never make the opposite mistake (that is, substitute tenet for tenant), but if you think you might, remember that tenant and occupant both end in -ant.

Examples of tenet in a Sentence

the central tenets of a religion one of the basic tenets of the fashion industry
Recent Examples on the Web Decades before Warren Buffett’s hero Benjamin Graham formally detailed the tenets of value investing in his 1949 book, Intelligent Investor, the Witch of Wall Street was espousing many of the same ideas. Bywill Daniel, Fortune, 17 Mar. 2024 But the very fact that a handful of individuals are buying licenses for opportunities to hunt public wildlife is troubling to others, who say the arrangement stresses one of the tenets of America’s wildlife-conservation traditions: that access to wildlife should be equitably distributed. Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 13 Mar. 2024 No single vendor provides solutions addressing all these tenets, so a model will help your teams balance diverse product messaging claims against the big picture for operationalizing zero trust. Ravi Ithal, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 One of the major tenets of emergency preparedness and disaster response plans is redundancy. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 21 Feb. 2024 Both capture the key tenets of cute: being unthreatening and adorable. Zara Khan, CNN, 14 Feb. 2024 Among the core tenets of Stewart’s Daily Show was that both sides of the aisle — in Congress and on cable — weren’t really to be trusted, and that America’s biggest problem had become our inability to stop yelling at one another. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 12 Feb. 2024 To continue to support hospitality workers and community members in need, a tenet of the Top 10 program, Free Press staffers swiftly assembled the Top 10 Cares program, raising nearly $500,000 for struggling restaurants working to feed frontline healthcare workers. Detroit Free Press, 5 Mar. 2024 The goal from the get-go was never to create a one-to-one recreation, so what was that driving tenet? Diego Ramos Bechara, Variety, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tenet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin, "(s/he) holds," 3rd person singular present tense of tenēre "to hold, possess" — more at tenant entry 1

Note: Probably from the use of tenet in Latin texts as the opening verb in the statement of a principle or doctrine held by the person or body in question; cf. tenent (Latin, "they hold") used in the 16th to 18th centuries in the same sense.

First Known Use

circa 1600, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tenet was circa 1600

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Cite this Entry

“Tenet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenet. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

tenet

noun
te·​net ˈten-ət How to pronounce tenet (audio)
: a widely held belief
especially : one held in common by members of a group or profession

More from Merriam-Webster on tenet

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