TENDER  . (1) An

adjective meaning soft, either physically or figuratively, derived from Fr. tendre, Lat. tener, soft, allied to tenuis, thin, and ultimately to be referred to the root, tan-, to stretch out, as in Lat. tendere . (2) A legal term meaning an offer for acceptance, particularly an offer in money for the satisfaction of a debt or liability or an offer to pay or deliver according to the terms of a contract; for " legal tender," the currency which can legally be offered and must be accepted in payment, see PAYMENT . The term is also applied specifically to an offer to do a specified piece of work or to supply certain goods for a certain sum or at a certain rate or to purchase goods at a certain rate . Contracts for large or important works or for the supply of large amounts of goods are usually put out to tender in order to secure the lowest price . In this sense the word is from " to tender," to offer, Fr. tendre, Lat. tendere, to stretch out . (3) A " tender " is also one who " attends " (Lat. attendere, to stretch towards, to give heed to), and so is applied particularly to a small vessel which brings supplies, passengers, &c., to a larger vessel, or which is used to take or bring messages from or to her, and similarly to a carriage attached to a locomotive engine on a railway which carries coal or other fuel and water .