tenterhook : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: tenterhook	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for tenterhook
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
tenterhook n one of a series of hooks used to hold cloth on a tenter
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Tenter \Ten"ter\, n. [OE. tenture, tentoure, OF. tenture a stretching, spreading, F. tenture hangings, tapestry, from L. tendere, tentum, to stretch. See {Tend} to move.] A machine or frame for stretching cloth by means of hooks, called tenter-hooks, so that it may dry even and square. {Tenter ground}, a place where tenters are erected. {Tenter-hook}, a sharp, hooked nail used for fastening cloth on a tenter. {To be on the tenters}, [or] {on the tenter-hooks}, to be on the stretch; to be in distress, uneasiness, or suspense. --Hudibras.