French word

tennis

Pronunciation

IPA/tenis/

Meaning

  • masculine nountennis

Example

Il joue au tennis avec ses amis.

He plays tennis with his friends.

Illustration for tennis (tennis)

More examples

Elle apprend à jouer au tennis le week-end.

She is learning to play tennis on weekends.

Core concept

Players use rackets to keep a ball within a lined court divided by a net, whether one player faces one or two.

Common phrases

  • jouer au tennis

    play tennis

  • un match de tennis

    a tennis match

Similar words

sport: A physical activity governed by rules and involving competition.
chaussure: An item worn on the foot for walking or physical activity.
match: One game or contest in which opposing players compete for victory.
balle: A spherical object struck with a racket or by hand.

Definition in French

Discipline sportive de raquette, pratiquée en simple ou en double sur un terrain délimité par des lignes et séparé par un filet.

Word origin

French tennis is borrowed from English tennis, whose medieval form tenetz is generally associated with the call 'hold!' from tenir.

Usage tips

  • Tennis also means a sneaker or trainer in French, usually in the plural des tennis, so context distinguishes the shoe from the sport.

Related words

  • tennistetennis playernoun

Word lists with this word