tenacity

TENAC'ITY, n. [L. tenacitas, from teneo, to hold.]

1. Adhesiveness; that quality of bodies which makes them stick or adhere to others; glutinousness; stickiness; as the tenacity of oils, of glue, of tar, of starch and the like.

2. That quality of bodies which keeps them from parting; without considerable force; cohesiveness; the effect of attraction; opposed to brittleness or fragility.