tendon
/ˈtɛn.dən/noun
tendon is spelled T-E-N-D-O-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tendon means “A tough band of flexible but inelastic fibrous collagen tissue that connects a muscle with its bony attachment and transmits the force which the…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tendon is tendons.
How many letters and syllables are in tendon?
| Letters | 6: T-E-N-D-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.0 times per million words; the 19,336th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is tendon?
Tendon appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce tendon?
- /ˈtɛn.dən/
Tendon has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-tendon.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of tendon
- tendons plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tendon mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A tough band of flexible but inelastic fibrous collagen tissue that connects a muscle with its bony attachment and transmits the force which the muscle exerts.
- 2
The hamstring of a quadruped.
- 3
A wire or bar used to strengthen prestressed concrete.
- 4
Tempura donburi, a bowl of rice topped with vegetables or seafood fried in batter.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tendon in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense band of fibrous tissue:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does tendon come from?
Borrowed from French tendon or Medieval Latin tendō, from Ancient Greek τένων (ténōn, “sinew, tendon”), modified by association with the verb tendō (“to stretch”). Compare Middle English thenoun.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).