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Origin and history of tenuous

tenuous(adj.)

1590s, "thin, unsubstantial," irregularly formed with -ous + from Latin tenuis "slender, thin, fine; drawn out, meager, slim," figuratively "trifling, insignificant, poor, low in rank" (according to Watkins from PIE root *ten- "to stretch").

The correct form with respect to the Latin is tenuious. The figurative sense of "having slight importance, not substantial" is attested from 1817 in English. Related: Tenuously; tenuousness.

also from 1590s

Entries linking to tenuous

tenuious(adj.)

"tenuous, attenuated, thin," late 15c., from Latin tenuis "thin" (see tenuous) + -ous.

tenuity(n.)

"want of substantial thickness," early 15c., tenuite, from Old French tenuite, from Latin tenuitas "thinness, slenderness, fineness, smallness," from tenuis "thin" (see tenuous).

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slight
early 14c., "flat, smooth, sleek; hairless," originally northern according to OED and probably from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse slettr "smooth, sleek," from Proto-Germanic *slikhtaz "slippery; flat, level, plain" (source also of Old Saxon slicht; Old Frisian sliucht,
thin
Old English þynne "narrow, lean, scanty, not dense; fluid, tenuous; weak, poor," from Proto-Germanic *thunni "thin" (source also of West Frisian ten, Middle Low German dunne, Middle Dutch dunne, Dutch dun, Old High German dunni, German dünn, Old Norse þunnr, Swedish tunn, Danish
hint
c. 1600 (Shakespeare), "an indirect suggestion intended to be caught by the knowing," apparently from obsolete hent, from Middle English hinten "to tell, inform" (c. 1400), from Old English hentan "to seize," from Proto-Germanic *hantijan (source also of Gothic hinþan "to seize")
expert
late 14c., "having had experience; skillful," from Old French expert, espert "experienced, practiced, skilled" and directly from Latin expertus (contracted from *experitus), "tried, proved, known by experience," past participle of experiri "to try, test," from ex "out of" (see ex
father
Middle English fader, from Old English fæder "he who begets a child, nearest male ancestor;" also "any lineal male ancestor; the Supreme Being," and by late Old English, "one who exercises parental care over another," from Proto-Germanic *fader (source also of Old Saxon fadar, Ol
inspire
mid-14c., enspiren, "to fill (the mind, heart, etc., with grace, etc.);" also "to prompt or induce (someone to do something)," from Old French enspirer (13c.), from Latin inspirare "blow into, breathe upon," figuratively "inspire, excite, inflame," from in- "in" (from PIE root *e
symbiosis
1876, as a biological term, "union for life of two different organisms based on mutually benefit," from Greek symbiosis "a living together," from symbioun "live together," from symbios "(one) living together (with another), partner, companion, husband or wife," from assimilated f
data
1640s, "a fact given or granted," classical plural of datum, from Latin datum "(thing) given," neuter past participle of dare "to give" (from PIE root *do- "to give"). In classical use originally "a fact given as the basis for calculation in mathematical problems." From 1897 as "
deception
early 15c., decepcioun, "act of misleading, a lie, a falsehood," from Old French déception (13c., decepcion) or directly from Late Latin deceptionem (nominative deceptio) "a deceiving," noun of state or action from past-participle stem of Latin decipere "to ensnare, take in, begu
profane
"desecrate, treat (holy things) with irreverence," late 14c., prophanen, from Old French profaner, prophaner (13c.) and directly from Latin profanare (in Medieval Latin often prophanare) "to desecrate, render unholy, violate," from profanus "unholy, not consecrated" (see profane

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