Tensor
/ˈtɛn.sər/noun
A muscle, tendon, or mathematical object that exerts or represents tension.
Did you know?The word comes from the same Latin root as *tension* and *tendons*—because in its earliest sense, a tensor was something that *stretched* or *held under strain*.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ten-
“to stretch”
Latin
Latin
tendere
“to stretch, extend, strain”
Latin
Latin
tensor
“a stretcher; one who or that which stretches”
Late Latin / Medieval Latin
Latin
tensor
“a muscle that tightens or stretches”
17th Century
English
tensor
“a muscle that tightens or stretches”
19th Century
English
tensor
“a mathematical quantity representing tension or transformation”