Jump to content

tenere

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

See also: Ténéré

Italian

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin tenēre, from Proto-Italic *tenēō, stative from Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to stretch, draw”).

Alternative forms

tener (apocopic)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /teˈne.re/^[1]^[2]
Rhymes: -ere
Hyphenation: te‧né‧re

Verb

tenére (first-person singular present tèngo, first-person singular past historic ténni or tènni, past participle tenùto, first-person singular future terrò, auxiliary avére)

(transitive) to hold
tieni il libro in mano ― hold the book in (your) hand(s)
1. to set aside; to conserve
2. to hold (one's spot in line, etc.)
3. to reserve
(transitive) to keep
tenere gli occhi aperti ― to keep one's eyes open

tenere i soldi sotto il materasso ― to keep the money under the mattress

tenerlo recluso ― to keep him confined
(ambitransitive) to hold up; to sustain
quel pilastro tiene l'intero edificio
that pillar holds up the entire building

il scaffale tiene al peso dei libri
the shelf holds up against the weight of the books

il paese tiene nonostante il virus
the country is holding up despite the virus
(transitive) continue to wear; to not remove (a garment); to keep on (a garment)
ora ancora piove, quindi tieni la giacca
it's still raining, so keep the jacket on
(transitive) to take
tieni la penna ― take the pen

tieni la sinistra ― take the left
(transitive, chiefly southern Italy) to have; to possess
Synonym: avere

tengo una bella casa ― I have a nice house
(transitive) to treat (in a certain way)
l'ho sempre tenuta come una bambina ― I always treated her as a little girl
(transitive) to have employed
tiene dieci camerieri ― he has ten waiters employed
(transitive) to manage
tenere una trattoria ― to manage a bistro
(transitive) to carry out (of a speech, lesson, etc.)
(transitive) to have over or keep (at a place)
tenerla a cena ― to have her over for dinner

mi ha tenuto a lavorare ― he had me over at work
(transitive) to hold back (an impulse, feeling, etc.)
tenere il pianto ― to hold back one's tears (literally, “one's crying”)
(transitive) to look over or take care of
(transitive) to assume or take up (a behavior, attitude, etc.)
(transitive) to take up (to occupy space)
(transitive, informal) to contain
(transitive, military) to defend (a position, etc.) from enemy attack
abbiamo tenuto lo sbocco della valle
we defended the mouth of the valley
(transitive, journalism) to continue coverage of uninteresting or unpressing news, in hopes of future developments
(transitive, literary) to consider or deem; to hold to be
come egli molto l'amava e molto bella la teneva
how much he loved her and held her to be very beautiful
(transitive, archaic) to refrain from spending; to be stingy
(transitive, archaic or literary) to achieve
(intransitive) to stick or attach well [auxiliary avere] (of a glue, etc.)
(intransitive) to be airtight [auxiliary avere]
(intransitive) to seem colorable; to hold water [auxiliary avere]
(intransitive) to last [auxiliary avere]
un amore che ha tenuto nonostante le criticità ― a love that lasted despite some trying moments
(intransitive) to support someone's views, positions, etc. [with per] [auxiliary avere]
se tieni per me, votami
if you support me, vote for me
(intransitive) to root [with per ‘for’] [auxiliary avere]
(intransitive) to like or love (in a non romantic way) [with a] [auxiliary avere]
(intransitive, economics) to remain stable [auxiliary avere] (of a currency, stock market, etc.)
(intransitive, rare) to look like [auxiliary avere]

Usage notes

The use of tenere in the sense of avere (“to have”) is typically nonstandard and often associated with the Neapolitan dialect, and region.

Conjugation

Conjugation of tenére (-ere; irregular) (See Appendix:Italian verbs)

person	singular			plural
infinitive	tenére
auxiliary verb		avére	gerund		tenèndo
present participle		tenènte	past participle		tenùto
person	first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative	io	tu	lui/lei, esso/essa	noi	voi	loro, essi/esse
present	tèngo	tièni, tiéni	tiène, tiéne	teniàmo	tenéte	tèngono
imperfect	tenévo	tenévi	tenéva	tenevàmo	tenevàte	tenévano
past historic	ténni, tènni	tenésti	ténne, tènne	tenémmo	tenéste	ténnero, tènnero
future	terrò	terrài	terrà	terrémo	terréte	terrànno
conditional	terrèi	terrésti	terrèbbe, terrébbe	terrémmo	terréste	terrèbbero, terrébbero
subjunctive	che io	che tu	che lui/che lei, che esso/che essa	che noi	che voi	che loro, che essi/che esse
present	tènga	tènga	tènga	teniàmo	teniàte	tèngano
imperfect	tenéssi	tenéssi	tenésse	tenéssimo	tenéste	tenéssero
imperative	—	tu	Lei	noi	voi	Loro
imperative		tièni, tiéni	tènga	teniàmo	tenéte	tèngano
negative imperative		non tenére	non tènga	non teniàmo	non tenéte	non tèngano

Including lesser-used forms:

Conjugation of tenére (-ere; irregular) (See Appendix:Italian verbs)

person	singular			plural
infinitive	tenére
auxiliary verb		avére	gerund		tenèndo
present participle		tenènte	past participle		tenùto
person	first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative	io	tu	lui/lei, esso/essa	noi	voi	loro, essi/esse
present	tèngo, tègno¹	tièni	tiène	teniàmo, tegnàmo¹	tenéte	tèngono, tègnono¹
imperfect	tenévo	tenévi	tenéva	tenevàmo	tenevàte	tenévano
past historic	ténni, tenéi¹, tenétti¹, tenètti^1,2	tenésti	ténne, tené¹, tenétte¹, tenètte^1,2	tenémmo	tenéste	ténnero, tenérono¹, tenéttero¹, tenèttero^1,2
future	terrò	terrài	terrà	terrémo	terréte	terrànno
conditional	terrèi	terrésti	terrèbbe, terrébbe	terrémmo	terréste	terrèbbero, terrébbero
subjunctive	che io	che tu	che lui/che lei, che esso/che essa	che noi	che voi	che loro, che essi/che esse
present	tènga, tègna¹	tènga, tègna¹	tènga, tègna¹	teniàmo, tegnàmo¹	teniàte, tegnàte¹	tèngano, tègnano¹
imperfect	tenéssi	tenéssi	tenésse	tenéssimo	tenéste	tenéssero
imperative	—	tu	Lei	noi	voi	Loro
imperative		tièni	tènga, tègna¹	teniàmo, tegnàmo¹	tenéte	tèngano, tègnano¹
negative imperative		non tenére	non tènga, non tègna¹	non teniàmo, non tegnàmo¹	non tenéte	non tèngano, non tègnano¹

¹Archaic.
²Traditional.

Derived terms

Related terms

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈtɛ.ne.re/^[2]^[3]
Rhymes: -ɛnere
Hyphenation: tè‧ne‧re

Adjective

tenere

feminine plural of tenero

References

^ tenere in Bruno Migliorini et al., Dizionario d'ortografia e di pronunzia, Rai Eri, 2025
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 tenere in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)
^ messe in Bruno Migliorini et al., Dizionario d'ortografia e di pronunzia, Rai Eri, 2025

Anagrams

eterne

Latin

Etymology 1

Adverb form of tener.

Adverb

tenerē (comparative tenerius, superlative tenerissimē)

tenderly, lovingly

Synonyms

(tenderly): teneriter

Etymology 2

Verb

tenēre

inflection of teneō:
1. present active infinitive
2. second-person singular present passive imperative

References

“tenere”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“tenere”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
“tenere”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
- (ambiguous) to hold something in one's hand: manu or in manu tenere aliquid
- (ambiguous) to hold fast in the teeth (also metaphorically, obstinately): mordicus tenere aliquid
- (ambiguous) to be scarcely able to restrain one's laughter: risum tenere vix posse
- (ambiguous) to be hardly able to restrain one's tears: lacrimas tenere non posse
- (ambiguous) to abide by one's resolution: propositum, consilium tenere (opp. a proposito deterreri)
- (ambiguous) to remember a thing perfectly: memoriā tenere aliquid
- (ambiguous) to remember a thing perfectly: memoriam alicuius rei tenere
- (ambiguous) to have a vivid recollection of a thing: recenti memoria tenere aliquid
- (ambiguous) to insist on a point: tenere aliquid; stare in aliqua re
- (ambiguous) to be well versed in Roman history: memoriam rerum gestarum (rerum Romanarum) tenere
- (ambiguous) to be considered the foremost orator: eloquentiae principatum tenere
- (ambiguous) to rivet the attention of..: animos tenere
- (ambiguous) to observe moderation, be moderate: modum tenere, retinere, servare, adhibere
- (ambiguous) to observe the golden mean: mediocritatem tenere (Off. 1. 25. 89)
- (ambiguous) to remain true to one's principles: institutum tenere
- (ambiguous) to never appear in public: domi se tenere
- (ambiguous) to be a strict disciplinarian in one's household: severum imperium in suis exercere, tenere (De Sen. 11. 37)
- (ambiguous) to keep up a usage: consuetudinem suam tenere, retinere,[TR1] servare
- (ambiguous) to hold the reins of government: clavum rei publicae tenere
- (ambiguous) to occupy the leading position: principatum tenere, obtinere
- (ambiguous) to have power over some one: imperium tenere (in aliquem)
- (ambiguous) to keep the citizens in servile subjection: civitatem servitute oppressam tenere (Dom. 51. 131)
- (ambiguous) to maintain one's right: ius suum tenere, obtinere
- (ambiguous) to be commander-in-chief: imperii summam tenere (Rep. 2. 28)
- (ambiguous) to hold a mountain: tenere montem (B. G. 1. 22)
- (ambiguous) to remain inactive in camp: se (quietum) tenere castris
- (ambiguous) to keep a town in a state of siege: oppidum in obsidione tenere
- (ambiguous) to hold on one's course: cursum tenere (opp. commutare and deferri)
- (ambiguous) to steer: clavum tenere
- (ambiguous) to keep the coast and harbours in a state of blockade: litora ac portus custodia clausos tenere

Neapolitan

Alternative forms

tené, tenè (alt. spellings)

Etymology

Inherited from Latin tenēre.

Pronunciation

(Naples) IPA^(key): [təˈne]
Rhymes: -e

Verb

tenere

to hold
to have, possess
Synonym: avé

References

AIS: Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz [Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland] – map 1701: “forme dell'infinito: dare, potere, volere, sapere, vedere, bere, venire, avere, essere; participio passato: bevuto” – on navigais-web.pd.istc.cnr.it
Rocco, Emmanuele (1882), “tenere”, in Vocabolario del dialetto napolitano‎^[2]

Tarantino

Etymology

From Latin teneo, tenere.

Verb

tenere

(transitive) to hold
(transitive) to possess

Conjugation

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Present tense:- tènghe, tíne, téne, teníme, teníte, tènene

Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=tenere&oldid=88369630"

Hidden categories: