*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of tenon

From Middle English tenoun, tenown, tenon, from Anglo-Norman tenoun, from Old French tenon.

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
verb

To make into a tenon. · To fit with tenons.

noun

A projecting member left by cutting away the wood around it, and made to insert into a mortise, and in this way secure together the parts of a frame.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English tenoun, tenown, tenon, from Anglo-Norman tenoun, from Old French tenon.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentiontenounenm
  • Derivation mentiontenonfro
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "tenoun"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English tenoun"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "xno",
        "3": "tenoun"
      },
      "expansion": "Anglo-Norman tenoun"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "tenon"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French tenon"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "tenoun",
      "tenoun#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "tenown",
      "tenown#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "tenon",
      "tenon#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "tenoun",
      "tenoun#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "tenon",
      "tenon#Old_French"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To make into a tenon.",
        "To fit with tenons."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 234023
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A projecting member left by cutting away the wood around it, and made to insert into a mortise, and in this way secure together the parts of a frame."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 234022
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for tenon →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-dGVub24