tendresse means tenderness, gentle intimacy or affection. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.
Why “tendresse” is a great word
TENDRESSE — [Noun] A quiet, intimate feeling of gentle affection or fondness. Borrowed from French tendresse, from Old French tendre ("tender, soft") + the suffix -esse. Unlike "passion," which is a consuming fire, or "kindness," which is a charitable act, tendresse is the lingering warmth of the embers. It is the hand resting on a sleeping child's brow, the careful preservation of a faded letter for the hand that held it, and the specific softness in a voice reserved for a sleeping pet—a profound, muted warmth that remains when all fiercer emotions have burned away.
noun
- tenderness, gentle intimacy or affection“When Papillon makes his last impossible try for freedom they embrace with the tendresse of lovers, however manly and platonic.”