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tenuitas

Tenuitas is a Latin noun meaning thinness, slenderness, or tenuity. In English-language scholarship, the related term tenuity is a rare loanword used to describe a state of being insubstantial or slender. Etymology traces tenuitas to tenuis, meaning thin or fine, with the abstract noun suffix -tas.

In classical Latin, tenuitas chiefly described physical thinness or minor or slight quality of objects, fabrics,

Modern references to tenuitas are mainly of historical or philological interest. It is encountered in studies

See also

tenuis, tenuity, tenuous, densitas, Latin philosophy, scholasticism

Notes

As with many historical Latin terms, precise meaning and nuance depend on the author and period. Readers

or
structures.
In
medieval
and
scholastic
Latin,
the
word
appears
in
discussions
about
the
degree
or
measure
of
existence
and
form,
where
it
can
denote
a
minimal
or
insubstantial
quality
in
contrast
with
greater
density
or
substance
(densitas).
Its
usage
is
descriptive
rather
than
a
fixed
technical
term,
and
it
is
often
varied
by
author
and
context.
of
Latin
vocabulary,
manuscript
commentaries,
or
rhetoric
where
writers
discuss
the
qualitative
degree
of
thickness,
substance,
or
reality.
The
term
is
not
commonly
used
in
contemporary
scientific
or
philosophical
terminology,
but
it
appears
in
translations,
glossaries,
and
analyses
of
medieval
texts
to
convey
nuances
of
thickness
or
subtlety
that
broader
Latin
vocabulary
might
not
capture.
consulting
primary
texts
should
consider
surrounding
terminology
and
genre
to
ascertain
the
intended
sense
of
tenuitas.