tenai

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Pronunciations

tenai (t-NAY) listen

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Definitions

  • n. A condition, especially one made as part of an agreement.

  • n. (plural form 'tenaim' used as singular) A prenuptial contract that dates from the 12th century and is still used by some traditional and Hasidic Jews.

  • n. (plural form 'tenaim' used as singular) An engagement party.

Example Sentences

  • "It is preferable to make a tenai (condition) before printing or copying divrei Torah." (source)

  • "For my tastes, he has too many tnaim for giving a ride." (Weiser)

    Listen to recordings of this sentence: ( Recording 1)

  • "Guess what! The rabbi's daughters' getting married. They held tnoim last night." (Glinert)

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Languages of Origin

  • Aramaic

Etymology

  • תנאי tenai 'condition, second'

      • Who Uses This

      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)

      Regions

      • North America
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish, by Chaim Weiser (Northvale, 1995).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
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      Alternative Spellings

      t'nay, tinay, tanay, t'nai, tinai, tanai, tenay, tnoi, tenoi, tanoi, t'noi, tinoi, tnai, tnay

Notes

  • plural: 'tnaim', 'tenaim', 'teno'im', or 'tno'im'

    "The phrase 'al tnai' precedes a conjunction and denotes: On The Condition, i.e., 'You can have a ride a tnai that you sit in the back, pay the tolls, don't smoke, and leave your windows up.'" (Weiser).

    "[The tenaim] is the detailed dowry and other financial arrangements, the date of the wedding, and the penalty if anyone backed out. Some traditional and Hasidic Jews still prepare a tenaim and read it aloud at an engagement party or sign it before the wedding ceremony, at the same time the ketubbah is signed." (JPS)

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