noun · femininefirst declension
tēnsa
tēnsa f (genitive tēnsae)
Classical[ˈtẽː.sa]Ecclesiastical[ˈtɛn.sa]
Meaning
- the chariot or car on which the images of the gods were borne in the Circensian games
Qui eorum [seniorum] curules gesserant magistratus, ut in fortunae pristinae honorumque ac virtutis insignibus morerentur, quae augustissima vestis est tensas ducentibus triumphantibusve, ea vestiti medio aedium eburneis sellis sedere.
Those of the elders who once held curule magistracies, that they may meet an end becoming their ancient worth, wearing the garment awarded to one who drove the tensae or has been given the honor of a triumph, sat in the middle of their houses on ivory chairs.27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita 5.41 - usuallya carriage
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | tēnsa | tēnsae |
| genitive | tēnsae | tēnsārum |
| dative | tēnsae | tēnsīs |
| accusative | tēnsam | tēnsās |
| ablative | tēnsā | tēnsīs |
| vocative | tēnsa | tēnsae |
tensa, ae, f.,
I. the chariot or car on which the images of the gods were borne in the Circensian games.
I. Lit.:
tensam ait vocari Sinnius Capito vehiculum, quo exuviae deorum ludicris Circensibus in Circum ad pulvinar vehuntur. Fuit et ex ebore, ut apud Titinnium in Barbato, et ex argento, Fest. p. 364 Müll.; cf.: tensa ἅρμα θεῶν, Gloss. Philox.: via tensarum atque pompae, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 59, § 154; 2, 3, 3, § 6; 2, 5, 72, § 186: tensam ducere, Liv. 5, 41, 2; 9, 40, 16: deducere, Suet. Aug. 43; id. Vesp. 5; Inscr. Grut. 35, 12.—* II. Perh. for a carriage in gen.: vende tensam atque mulos: sine eam pedibus grassari, Titin. ap. Non. 316, 3.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
tēnsa ae, f
—In the Circensian games, a car which bore the images of the gods, chariot for the gods: via tensarum: tensas ducere, L.
Origins
From Proto-Italic *ten-s-ā, from Proto-Indo-European *ten-s-eh₂, *tn̥-s-eh₂, from *ten- (“to stretch, to extend”). See teneō.