1. tenuis - Noun
2. tenuis - Adjective
One of the three surd mutes /, /, /; -- so called in relation to their respective middle letters, or medials, /, /, /, and their aspirates, /, /, /. The term is also applied to the corresponding letters and articulate elements in other languages.
Source: Webster's dictionaryIn tenuis stops, the vocal cords come together for voicing immediately following the release, and there is little or no aspiration (a voice onset time close to zero). Source: Internet
Initial voiceless stops, like the p in pie, are aspirated, with a palpable puff of air upon release, whereas a stop after an s, as in spy, is tenuis (unaspirated). Source: Internet
The "muddy" consonants in Shanghainese are slack voice; they contrast with tenuis and aspirated consonants. Source: Internet
For example, Eastern Armenian speakers pronounce ( թ main) as an aspirated "t" as in "tiger", ( դ main) like the "d" in "develop", and ( տ main) as a tenuis occlusive, sounding somewhere between the two as in "stop." Source: Internet