Te*nac"i*ty (?), n. [L. tenacitas: cf. F. t'enacit'e. See Tenacious.]
1.
The quality or state of being tenacious; as, tenacity, or retentiveness, of memory; tenacity, or persistency, of purpose.
2.
That quality of bodies which keeps them from parting without considerable force; cohesiveness; the effect of attraction; -- as distinguished from brittleness, fragility, mobility, etc.
3.
That quality of bodies which makes them adhere to other bodies; adhesiveness; viscosity.
Holland.
4. Physics
The greatest longitudinal stress a substance can bear without tearing asunder, -- usually expressed with reference to a unit area of the cross section of the substance, as the number of pounds per square inch, or kilograms per square centimeter, necessary to produce rupture.
© Webster 1913.