tenace

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noun

An interrupted sequence of high cards of the same suit, such as the king and jack or the ace and queen.

OriginSpanish tenaza ← Latin tenācēs →
Scrabble 8
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Meanings

nountenace (plural tenaces)

plural tenaces

  1. bridgeAn interrupted sequence of high cards of the same suit, such as the king and jack or the ace and queen.

Origin

  1. Latintenācēs
  2. Spanishtenaza
  3. Englishtenace

Borrowed from French tenace, from Spanish tenaza, from earlier tenaces, from Latin tenācēs, from teneō (“hold, grasp”).

More words from Spanish, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

cetaneCanete
Cite this entry
APA

tenace. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tenace

MLA

“tenace.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tenace. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tenace,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tenace.

Source: tenace on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.