tenderer

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
tender1

▶adjective (tenderer, tenderest)

• 1 gentle and sympathetic.

  ■ (tender of) archaic solicitous of.

• 2 (of food) easy to cut or chew.

• 3 (of a part of the body) sensitive.

• 4 young and vulnerable: the tender age of five.

• 5 requiring tact or careful handling.

• 6 Nautical (of a ship) inclined to roll in response to the wind.

– phrases
tender mercies ironic attention or treatment not in the best interests of its recipients.

– derivatives
tenderly adverb,
tenderness noun.

– origin ME: from OFr. tendre, from L. tener ‘tender, delicate’.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
tender2

▶verb

• 1 offer or present formally.

  ■ (often tender for) make a formal written offer to carry out work, supply goods, etc. for a stated fixed price.

• 2 offer as payment.

▶noun a tendered offer.

– phrases
put something out to tender seek tenders to carry out work, supply goods, etc.

– derivatives
tenderer noun.

– origin C16: from OFr. tendre, from L. tendere (see tend1).

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
tender3

▶noun

• 1 a vehicle used by a fire service or the armed forces for carrying supplies or fulfilling a specified role.

• 2 a boat used to ferry people and supplies to and from a ship.

• 3 a truck closely coupled to a steam locomotive to carry fuel and water.

• 4 a person who tends a machine, place, or other people.

– origin ME (in the sense ‘attendant, nurse’): from tend2 or shortening of attender (see attend).