post-tensioning
|post-ten-sion-ing|
🇺🇸
/poʊstˈtɛnʃənɪŋ/
🇬🇧
/pəʊstˈtɛnʃənɪŋ/
(post-tension)
apply tension after setting
Etymology
'post-tensioning' originates from Latin prefix 'post-' and the noun 'tension'. Specifically, 'post-' (from Latin 'post') meant 'after', and 'tension' derives from Latin 'tendere'/'tensio' where 'tendere' meant 'to stretch'.
'tension' entered English via Old French/Latin as 'tension' from Latin 'tensio' (from 'tendere'), and the English prefix 'post-' (from Latin 'post') combined with 'tension' in the 20th century to form the technical compound 'post-tensioning'.
Initially the elements meant 'after' (post-) and 'stretch' (tension), but together the compound evolved to mean specifically 'the act or system of applying tensile force after concrete casting'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a method of prestressing concrete in which steel tendons (cables) are tensioned after the concrete has been placed and allowed to gain strength.
Post-tensioning is commonly used in long-span slab and bridge construction to control deflection and cracking.
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Noun 2
the assembly or system of tendons, ducts, anchorages, and hardware used to apply post-tension forces to a concrete element.
The post-tensioning in the slab consists of bonded tendons placed in ducts and stressed after casting.
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Verb 1
to apply post-tensioning to a concrete member (i.e., to tension the tendons after concrete placement).
They are post-tensioning the parking garage slab this week to reduce cracking.
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Last updated: 2025/08/17 19:02