Tenet
noun
- A defining rule or principle that is strictly adhered to, especially by members of a group
Usage
Unless you're a hermit living in a cave somewhere, you probably belong to some kind of larger organization - be it your family, employer, school, etc. - that lays down a characteristic set of rules. "Call your relatives on their birthdays". "Dress appropriately". "Respect your teachers". And even if you are a hermit living in a cave somewhere, chances are you still have certain personal beliefs that you closely follow, like a conviction that isolation is the most fulfilling way to live. Regardless of social situation, human beings simply have a tendency to form and live by tenets.
A tenet is an absolute principle that stipulates how a person or entity should think or behave. Basically, tenets are the structures by which the being that holds them lives life. These rules usually reflect a crucial part of the identity of the person who follows them. They are often formed from an unconditional view of the way the world works; as a result, you can sometimes tell a lot about what a person values by the tenets they keep. Although a tenet can take the shape of either an outright rule - "don't steal" - or a more general belief - "people deserve not to have their stuff stolen" - it will always serve as an instruction that directs thought or action.
An important component of a tenet is the implication that it is meant to be rigorously followed. This isn't some conditional or unrealistic decision you make without expecting to maintain, like that resolution to "never, ever, ever, date again!" after your last breakup. A tenet demands complete conformity to its meaning, a fact that would be prescient to consider before welcoming any credo. Due to this dogmatic nature, many large organizations construct tenets to ensure that their many members all function according to a specific purpose. The Ten Commandments are a great example of a set of moral tenets set by a religion, and most companies set somewhat less high-minded rules to make sure that their employees work efficiently. Of course, a tenet can also be unique to a single person who feels tenaciously enough about something to create a rule about it for himself.
Caution: When saying or writing tenet, it's a common mistake to add an extra "n" to the end of the word, making it tenent. Given tenet's similarity to the more common word tenant (which means "a resident of a specific place"), this error is quite understandable. So, be careful that your tenets have only one "n!"
Example: The toymaker held the tenet that fun should be available for all.
Example: The small child, who had yet to form a tenet that forbade stealing, stuffed a doll in her pocket when the toymaker wasn't looking.
Example: One of the tenets of the Toymaker's Union was that buyers assumed liability for all risk upon purchase of any toy.
Origin
If there's something familiar about tenet that seems to be holding your attention (get it?), know that you're onto something! The background of tenet's meaning stretches all the way back to the Proto-Indo European (PIE) root ten-, meaning "to stretch (to tautness)." This is the very same foundation of common words like tension and tense, both of which are associated with a sense of being held tightly. That PIE root would give rise to the Latin verb tenere, which, though it has a litany of possible definitions, for our purposes means "to hold onto," "to possess or maintain," or "to attain or arrive at (as in a conclusion)." This last sense is especially important, as tenere would evolve to take on the figurative meaning of "to comprehend" or "to hold an idea in mind." From here, it was a natural leap to a noun that described the actual thing that one "held in mind;" the modern English tenet is accounted as such as far back as the early 1400s.
In Literature
From Edgar Rice Burroughs' The People That Time Forgot:
…this man Billings comes as close to my conception of what a regular man should be as any I have ever met. I venture to say that before Bowen J. Tyler sent him to college he had never heard the word ethics, and yet I am equally sure that in all his life he never has transgressed a single tenet of the code of ethics of an American gentleman.
Burroughs uses tenet to refer to the fact that, even before the character Billings received a formal education, he still embodied the moral principles one would expect of a sophisticated person.
Mnemonic
- Religions tend to have tenets
- Two nets is a tenet of soccer
- Camping Tenet: No fire inside the tent
Tags
Religion, Rules, Tension
Bring out the linguist in you! What is your own interpretation of tenet. Did you use tenet in a game? Provide an example sentence or a literary quote.