tenor

The story

1. Latin · derived fromtenor“course, continuance; holder”
2. Old French · derived fromtenor“substance, contents, meaning, sense; tenor part in music”
3. Anglo-Norman · derived fromtenour
4. Middle English · inherited fromtenour
5. English todaytenor

From Middle English tenour, from Anglo-Norman tenour, from Old French tenor (“substance, contents, meaning, sense; tenor part in music”), from Latin tenor (“course, continuance; holder”), from teneō (“to hold”). In music, from the notion of the one who holds the melody, as opposed to the countertenor.