tendon

T1E1N1D2O1N1
/ˈtɛn.dən/

noun

A tough band of flexible but inelastic fibrous collagen tissue that connects a muscle with its bony attachment and transmits the force which the muscle exerts.

Similar
sinew
OriginFrench tendon ← Medieval Latin tendō ← Ancient Greek τένων →
Less commonScrabble 7
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Meanings

tendon1

nountendon (plural tendons)

plural tendons

  1. anatomyA tough band of flexible but inelastic fibrous collagen tissue that connects a muscle with its bony attachment and transmits the force which the muscle exerts.

    I hear a wrenching sound of tendons stretching and testing their anchors on the bone.

    2016, Ian McEwan, Nutshell, Vintage, page 78

    Synonyms: sinew

  2. biologyThe hamstring of a quadruped.
  3. businessA wire or bar used to strengthen prestressed concrete.

tendon2

nountendon (countable and uncountable, plural tendons)

plural tendons

  1. countableuncountableTempura donburi, a bowl of rice topped with vegetables or seafood fried in batter.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA tough band of flexible but inelastic fibrous collagen tissue that connects a muscle with its bony attachment and transmits the force which the muscle exerts.

Similar
sinew

More synonyms by meaning

nouna cord or band of inelastic tissue connecting a muscle with its bony attachment

Similar
sinew
Broader
connective tissue
Also see
sinew

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

tendon · noun

  1. Ancient Greekτένων“sinew, tendon”
  2. Medieval Latintendō
  3. Frenchtendon
  4. Englishtendon

Borrowed from French tendon or Medieval Latin tendō, from Ancient Greek τένων (ténōn, “sinew, tendon”), modified by association with the verb tendō (“to stretch”). Compare Middle English thenoun.

More words from French, Medieval Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

tendon · noun

  1. Japanese天丼
  2. Englishtendon

Borrowed from Japanese 天丼 (tendon), clipping of 天ぷら丼 (tenpura donburi).

More words from Japanese

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek τένων
  • τένων (ténōn)band of fibrous tissue
Arabic وَتَر
  • وَتَر (watar)band of fibrous tissue
Bulgarian сухожи́лие
  • сухожи́лие (suhožílie)band of fibrous tissue
Catalan tendó
  • tendóband of fibrous tissue
Chinese Mandarin 肌腱, 腱
  • 肌腱 (jījiàn)band of fibrous tissue
  • 腱 (jiàn)band of fibrous tissue
Czech šlacha
  • šlachaband of fibrous tissue
Danish sene
  • seneband of fibrous tissue
Dutch pees
  • peesband of fibrous tissue
Esperanto tendeno
  • tendenoband of fibrous tissue
Estonian kõõlus
  • kõõlusband of fibrous tissue
Finnish jänne
  • jänneband of fibrous tissue
French tendon
  • tendonband of fibrous tissue
German Sehne
  • Sehneband of fibrous tissue
Greek τένοντας
  • τένοντας (ténontas)band of fibrous tissue
Hebrew גִיד
  • גִיד (gid)band of fibrous tissue
Hindi स्नायु, नस
  • स्नायु (snāyu)band of fibrous tissue
  • नस (nas)band of fibrous tissue
Hungarian ín, ínszalag
  • ínband of fibrous tissue
  • ínszalagband of fibrous tissue
Icelandic sin
  • sinband of fibrous tissue
Indonesian tendon, urat
  • tendonband of fibrous tissue
  • uratband of fibrous tissue
Irish teannán
  • teannánband of fibrous tissue
Italian tendine
  • tendineband of fibrous tissue
Japanese 腱, 筋
  • 腱 (ken)band of fibrous tissue
  • 筋 (suji)band of fibrous tissue
Korean 심줄, 힘줄
  • 심줄 (simjul)band of fibrous tissue
  • 힘줄 (himjul)band of fibrous tissue
  • 건 (geon)band of fibrous tissue
Latin tenōn
  • tenōnband of fibrous tissue
Latvian cīpsla, dzīsla
  • cīpslaband of fibrous tissue
  • dzīslaband of fibrous tissue
Lithuanian sausgyslė
  • sausgyslėband of fibrous tissue
Malay tendon
  • tendonband of fibrous tissue
Māori uaua, iaia
  • uauaband of fibrous tissue
  • iaiaband of fibrous tissue
  • ioband of fibrous tissue
  • ioioband of fibrous tissue
  • iohereband of fibrous tissue
Norwegian Bokmål sene
  • seneband of fibrous tissue
Persian تاندون, پی
  • تاندون (tândon)band of fibrous tissue
  • پی (pay)band of fibrous tissue
Polish ścięgno
  • ścięgnoband of fibrous tissue
Portuguese tendão
  • tendãoband of fibrous tissue
Romanian tendon, ligament
  • tendonband of fibrous tissue
  • ligamentband of fibrous tissue
  • vânăband of fibrous tissue
Russian сухожи́лие, жи́ла
  • сухожи́лие (suxožílije)band of fibrous tissue
  • жи́ла (žíla)band of fibrous tissue
Slovak šľacha
  • šľachaband of fibrous tissue
Spanish tendón
  • tendónband of fibrous tissue
Swedish sena
  • senaband of fibrous tissue
Tagalog litid
  • litidband of fibrous tissue
Tamil தசைநாண்
  • தசைநாண் (tacaināṇ)band of fibrous tissue
Thai ลวดกำ, สายตัว
  • ลวดกำ (lûat gam)band of fibrous tissue
  • สายตัว (săai dtua)band of fibrous tissue
  • เอ็นกล้ามเนื้อband of fibrous tissue
  • แถบเอ็น (tɛ̀ɛp-en)band of fibrous tissue
  • เอ็น (en)band of fibrous tissue
  • เส้นเอ็น (sêen-en)band of fibrous tissue
Turkish kiriş, tendon
  • kirişband of fibrous tissue
  • tendonband of fibrous tissue
Ukrainian сухожи́лля
  • сухожи́лля (suxožýllja)band of fibrous tissue
Vietnamese gân
  • gânband of fibrous tissue

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Denton
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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