Dictionary:

tenor

  (tĕn'ər)

1. A continuous, unwavering course. See synonyms at tendency.
2. The word, phrase, or subject with which the vehicle of a metaphor is identified, as life in “Life's but a walking shadow” (Shakespeare).
3. 1. The course of thought or argument running through something written or spoken.
   2. General sense; purport.
4. Law.
   1. The exact meaning or actual wording of a document as distinct from its effect.
   2. An exact copy of a document.
5. Music.
   1. The highest natural adult male voice.
   2. One who sings this part.
   3. An instrument that sounds within this range.
   4. (Abbr. T) A vocal or instrumental part written within this range.

[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin, uninterrupted course, from tenēre, to hold, continue.]

The amount of time left for the repayment of a loan or contract or the initial term length of a loan. Tenor can be expressed in years, months or days.

Investopedia Says:
For example, if a bank loan is initially extended with a five-year tenor, after three years, the loan will be said to have a tenor of two years.

Tenor is sometimes used interchangeably with "maturity", although tenor is not often used to describe the terms of fixed-income instruments such as government bonds and corporate bonds. Instead, non-standardized contracts like insurance policies and bank loans tend to be described in terms of tenor.

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1. Shorthand reference for maturity on a note or financial instrument.

2. Designates the time when a draft is payable: on sight (when presented), a given number of days after presentment, or a given number of days after the date of the draft.

3. Terms set for payment of a draft, i.e., when delivered (a Sight Draft) or at a future date (a Time Draft).

noun

1. The thread or current of thought uniting or occurring in all the elements of a text or discourse: aim, burden², drift, intent, meaning, purport, substance, tendency, thrust. See meaning.
2. The general sense or significance, as of an action or statement: amount, burden², drift, import, purport, substance. Idioms: sum and substance, sum total. See meaning.

tenor, the subject to which a metaphorical expression is applied. Ina metaphor like the ship of state, the state is the tenor, while the metaphorical term ship is called the ‘vehicle’. This distinction between tenor and vehicle was formulated by the critic I. A. Richards in The Philosophy of Rhetoric (1936), where he argues that the total meaning of a metaphor is the product of a complex interaction between them.

An exact replica of a legal document in words and figures.

For example, the tenor of a check would be the exact amount payable, as indicated on its face.

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