tenableadj.

Brit.

/ˈtɛnəbl/, U.S.

/ˈtɛnəb(ə)l/

Forms: Also 1600s teneable.

Etymology: < French tenable (12th cent. in Godefroy), < ten-ir to hold + -able suffix: see -ble suffix, and compare tenible adj.

1. Capable of being held (in various senses of hold v.); that may be kept, kept in, kept back, retained, restrained, or held in control. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > retaining > [adjective] > able to be retained

tenable1604

retainable1656

society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > [adjective] > bound or under obligation > able to be

tenable1604

obligable1648

1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. ii. 247 If you haue hetherto conceald this sight Let it be tenable [1603 tenible, 1623 treble] in your silence still.

1649 C. Walker Anarchia Anglicana 1 That Party..being..tenable by no Oaths, Principles Promises, Declarations.

1856 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters IV. 149 Others tottering and crumbling away from time to time, until the cliff had got in some degree settled into a tenable form.

a. Capable of being held against attack; that may be successfully defended.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > defence > [adjective] > capable of being defended

defensible1572

defendable1579

tenable1579

tenible1633

holdablea1649

maintainable1680

1579 G. Fenton tr. F. Guicciardini Hist. Guicciardin xv. 856 The citie being not tenable..it yelded.

1673 S'too him Bayes 105 Except you..thrust your self in at every place that is not teneable.

1793 G. Morris in J. Sparks Life G. Morris (1832) II. 297 I do not think the position taken at Louvain is tenable.

1855 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Philip II of Spain I. iv. iii. 421 They might retire from a post that was no longer tenable.

b. figurative. Of statements, opinions, etc.: Capable of being maintained or defended against attack or objection.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > testing > debate, disputation, argument > [adjective] > of argument: valid, constructive

cataskeuastic1645

valida1648

well-natured?1649

tenable1711

1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 186. ¶5 The Atheist has not found his Post tenable, and is therefore retired into Deism.

1796 E. Burke Lett. Peace Regic. France iv, in Wks. (1812) IX. 67 The Tartarian doctrine is the most tenable opinion.

1837 W. Whewell Hist. Inductive Sci. I. 376 The letter of their theories is no longer tenable.

3. Capable of being held, occupied, possessed, or enjoyed.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > [adjective] > possessing > possessing a position or condition > capable of being possessed as

tenable1840

1840 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece VII. lvi. 142 The office was tenable for four years.

1883 Liverpool Courier 5 Oct. 4/9 The scholarships..are tenable for three years.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	tenable
释义	tenableadj. Brit. /ˈtɛnəbl/, U.S. /ˈtɛnəb(ə)l/ Forms: Also 1600s teneable. Etymology: < French tenable (12th cent. in Godefroy), < ten-ir to hold + -able suffix: see -ble suffix, and compare tenible adj. 1. Capable of being held (in various senses of hold v.); that may be kept, kept in, kept back, retained, restrained, or held in control. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > retaining > [adjective] > able to be retained tenable1604 retainable1656 society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > [adjective] > bound or under obligation > able to be tenable1604 obligable1648 1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. ii. 247 If you haue hetherto conceald this sight Let it be tenable [1603 tenible, 1623 treble] in your silence still. View more context for this quotation 1649 C. Walker Anarchia Anglicana 1 That Party..being..tenable by no Oaths, Principles Promises, Declarations. 1856 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters IV. 149 Others tottering and crumbling away from time to time, until the cliff had got in some degree settled into a tenable form. 2. a. Capable of being held against attack; that may be successfully defended. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > defence > [adjective] > capable of being defended defensible1572 defendable1579 tenable1579 tenible1633 holdablea1649 maintainable1680 1579 G. Fenton tr. F. Guicciardini Hist. Guicciardin xv. 856 The citie being not tenable..it yelded. 1673 S'too him Bayes 105 Except you..thrust your self in at every place that is not teneable. 1793 G. Morris in J. Sparks Life G. Morris (1832) II. 297 I do not think the position taken at Louvain is tenable. 1855 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Philip II of Spain I. iv. iii. 421 They might retire from a post that was no longer tenable. b. figurative. Of statements, opinions, etc.: Capable of being maintained or defended against attack or objection. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > testing > debate, disputation, argument > [adjective] > of argument: valid, constructive cataskeuastic1645 valida1648 well-natured?1649 tenable1711 1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 186. ¶5 The Atheist has not found his Post tenable, and is therefore retired into Deism. 1796 E. Burke Lett. Peace Regic. France iv, in Wks. (1812) IX. 67 The Tartarian doctrine is the most tenable opinion. 1837 W. Whewell Hist. Inductive Sci. I. 376 The letter of their theories is no longer tenable. 3. Capable of being held, occupied, possessed, or enjoyed. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > [adjective] > possessing > possessing a position or condition > capable of being possessed as tenable1840 1840 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece VII. lvi. 142 The office was tenable for four years. 1883 Liverpool Courier 5 Oct. 4/9 The scholarships..are tenable for three years. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adj.1579
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