2. tĕnus [root ten; v. teneo], perh. orig., an acc. of direction, and hence joined with gen.; afterwards a prep. with abl. (its supposed construction with the acc. rests upon a false reading in the passages, Ov. H. 12, 27; Val. Fl. 1, 537; Suet. Caes. 52, where the abl. is the true reading), prop. lengthwise, to the end; hence, as far as, up or down to, unto, to (placed after its case; mostly poet. and in post-Aug. prose; not in Cæs.).
- I. In gen. ( α ) With gen. plur. (so not in the prose of Cicero): labrorum tenus, along the lips, Lucr. 1, 940; 4, 15: lumborum tenus, as far as the loins, Cic. Arat. 83 (324): crurum tenus, Verg. G. 3, 53: laterum tenus, id. A. 10, 210: per aquam ferme genūs tenus altam, Liv. 44, 40, 8: aurium tenus, * Quint. 12, 2, 17: illi rumores Cumarum tenus caluerunt, Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 1, 2: urbium Corcyrae tenus, Liv. 26, 24, 11.
- (β) With abl. (so most freq. in prose and poetry): Tauro tenus, Cic. Deiot. 13, 36; Nep. Con. 2, 3: Arimino tenus, Suet. Aug. 30: Antio tenus, id. Tib. 38: Ostiā tenus, id. Ner. 16: Aethiopiā tenus, id. Caes. 52: erat pectoribus tenus, Liv. 21, 54, 9: inguinibus tenus, Cels. 1, 3: pube tenus, Verg. A. 3, 427: summo tenus ore, id. ib. 1, 737: collo tenus, Ov. M. 2, 275: pectoribus tenus, id. ib. 15, 512; 15, 673: poplite deinde tenus, id. ib. 5, 593: pennis tenus, id. ib. 6, 258: mediā tenus alvo, id. F. 2, 145: lateri capulo tenus abdidit ensem, Verg. A. 2, 553: poti faece tenus cadi, Hor. C. 3, 15, 16: tres regiones solo tenus dejectae, Tac. A. 15, 40 fin.: tectis tenus, id. ib. 13, 41: extollere caelo tenus, Just. 12, 6, 2.
Of time: Cantabrico tenus bello nec ultra, Suet. Aug. 85; cf.: volneribus tenus, of the fighting of gladiators, Liv. 41, 20, 12 et saep.
So the compounds, eātenus, hactenus, quātenus, quādantenus, v. h. vv.
- II. In partic.
- A. After, according to, by: tertium et quartum consulatum titulo tenus gessit, Suet. Caes. 76; so, titulo tenus, id. Claud. 25; id. Dom. 1, 31: facie tenus, i. e. for the sake of appearances, App. M. 10, p. 250, 9: specie tenus, Amm. 14, 7, 5: terrore tenus, id. 16, 8, 3.
- B. Verbo tenus, less freq. nomine tenus, as far as the meaning of the word extends, in name, nominally (very rare): veteres verbo tenus … de re publicā disserebant, Cic. Leg. 3, 6, 14; Liv. 34, 5, 4: haec verba cum affectu accipimus, non verbo tenus, Dig. 2, 2, 1 med.: usurpatas nomine tenus urbium expugnationes dictitans, Tac. A. 15, 6 fin.