Meanings
- datedinformalrareuncountableA feeling of exhaustion resulting from doing something stressful (such as driving) for a long period of time without a break.
A new national disease called tenigue was reported today. Almost any motorist may catch it once he gets on the highway.
1951 November 8, “'Tenigue' New Disease Afflicting U.S. Drivers”, in The New York Times, volume CI, number 34257, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, published 9 November 1951, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 17, column 22 more examples
Traffic safety studies have brought motordom a new word. It is "tenigue," a combination of tension and fatigue. And it is usually the result of too-constant driving without brief periods of relaxation. In these days of heavy traffic, tenigue can be deadly. Smart motorists on a long run will stop each 100 miles or so for a cup of coffee or a spot of tea, or just to stretch their legs. It will relieve tenigue.
1953, Martin H[arold] Bury, Rolling Wheels, Philadelphia, P.A.: Dorrance & Company, page 152One big reason for "that tired feeling" is what some doctors call "tenigue." It's a combination of emotional tension and physical fatigue. Emotional tension is the dangerous culprit.
1959, Lester R. Bittel, What Every Supervisor Should Know, New York, N.Y. […]: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., page 412
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*ten-
- Proto-Indo-European*tend-
- Proto-Indo-European*téndeti
- Proto-Italic*tendō
- Latintendō
- Latintēnsiō
- Middle Frenchtension
- Englishten(sion)
- Latinfatīgāre
- Frenchfatiguerdeverb.
- Frenchfatigue
- English(fat)igue
- Englishtenigue
Blend of ten(sion) + (fat)igue.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
tenigue. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tenigue
“tenigue.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tenigue. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tenigue,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tenigue.
Source: tenigue on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.