tender

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Gentle, kind, and loving.

   She gave the baby a tender kiss on the forehead.

2. 2
   adj

   (of food, especially meat) Soft and easy to cut or chew.

   The steak was so tender it almost melted in my mouth.

3. 3
   adj

   Sore and painful when touched.

   My arm felt tender where I had bumped it.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Tender in the senses “gentle and kind” and “sensitive to pain or damage” goes back to Latin tener “delicate.” The different tender meaning a formal offer was originally a legal term for formally offering a plea, evidence, or money to discharge a debt, and comes ultimately from Latin tendere “to stretch” or “hold out.”

From Middle English tender, tendere, from Anglo-Norman tender, Old French tendre, from Latin tener, tenerum (“soft, delicate”).

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary