ten·et

[ten-it; British also tee-nit]
noun
any opinion, principle, doctrine, dogma, etc., especially one held as true by members of a profession, group, or movement.

Origin:
1590–1600; < Latin: he holds

tenant, tenet.


belief, position.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
tenet (ˈtɛnɪt, ˈtiːnɪt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
a belief, opinion, or dogma
 
[C17: from Latin, literally: he (it) holds, from tenēre to hold]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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00:10
Tenets is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

tenet
"principle," properly "a thing held (to be true)," 1413, from L. tenet "he holds," third person singular present indicative of tenere "to hold, to keep, to maintain" from PIE base *ten- "to stretch" (cf. Skt. tantram "loom," tanoti "stretches, lasts;" Pers. tar "string;" Lith. tankus "compact," i.e.
"tightened;" Gk. teinein "to stretch," tasis "a stretching, tension," tenos "sinew," tetanos "stiff, rigid," tonos "string," hence "sound, pitch;" L. tendere "to stretch," tenuis "thin, rare, fine;" O.C.S. tento "cord;" O.E. thynne "thin"). Connection notion between "stretch" and "hold" is "to cause to maintain." The modern sense is probably because tenet was used in M.L. to introduce a statement of doctrine.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The realization seemed to defy one of the central tenets of a successful raft
  trip.
One of the basic tenets of science is that it is open to challenge.
People raised in a religion tend to accept the tenets of that religion, often
  without independent examination.
And he challenges us to rethink some of the basic tenets of our culture.
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