What does "tenter" mean?

Tenter: (Mach.) A kind of governor.

Additional senses

  1. 2.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.
  2. 3.To admit extension. Woolen cloth will tenter, linen scarcely. Bacon.
  3. 4.To hang or stretch on, or as on, tenters.

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