tenterhook

Etymology

From tenter + hook.

tenterhook means one of a series of hooks used to stretch cloth on a tenter. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 91 out of 100.

Why “tenterhook” is a great word

TENTERHOOK — [Noun] One of a series of hooks used to stretch cloth on a tenter, a frame for drying and setting fabric. From Middle English, from tenter (a frame for stretching cloth) + hook (a bent piece of metal for catching or holding). First attested in the late 15th century. Unlike a "tenter" (which is the whole, looming frame) or "tension" (which is the abstract state of strain), a tenterhook is the specific, sharp agent of that tautness. It is the cold, metallic bite at the selvage of wet wool, the silent, patient hold against the cloth's desire to shrink, and the precise physical anchor for transformation—a small, hard truth that all things must be held fast to become what they are meant to be.

noun

One of a series of hooks used to stretch cloth on a tenter.