Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Tenant
1.
(Law)
One who holds or possesses lands, or other real estate, by any kind of right, whether in fee simple, in common, in severalty, for life, for years, or at will; also, one who has the occupation or temporary possession of lands or tenements the title of which is in another; – correlative to landlord. See Citation from
Blackstone
, under Tenement
, 2. Blount. Wharton.
2.
One who has possession of any place; a dweller; an occupant.
“Sweet tenants of this grove.” Cowper.
The hhappy
tenant
of your shade. Cowley.
The sister
tenants
of the middle deep. Byron.
Tenant in capite
[L.
, or in
in + capite
, abl. of caput
head, chief.]Tenant in chief
by the laws of England, one who holds immediately of the king. According to the feudal system, all lands in England are considered as held immediately or mediately of the king, who is styled lord paramount. Such tenants, however, are considered as having the fee of the lands and permanent possession.
Blackstone.
– Tenant in common
. See under
Common
.Ten′ant
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Tenanted
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Tenanting
.] To hold, occupy, or possess as a tenant.
Sir Roger’s estate is
tenanted
by persons who have served him or his ancestors. Addison.
Webster 1828 Edition
Tenant
TEN'ANT
,Noun.
1.
A person holding land or other real estate under another, either by grant, lease or at will; one who has the occupation or temporary possession of lands or tenements whose title is in another; as a tenant in tail; tenant in common; tenant by the curtesy; tenant in parcenary; tenant for life; tenant at will; tenant in dower.2.
One who has possession of any place; a dweller. The happy tenant of your shade.
Tenant in capite, or tenant in chief, by the laws of England, is one who holds immediately of the king. According to the feudal system, all lands in England are considered as held immediately or mediately of the king, who is stiled lord paramount. Such tenants however are considered as having the fee of the lands and permanent possession.
TEN'ANT
,Verb.
T.
Sir Roger's estate is tenanted by persons who have served him or his ancestors.
Definition 2024
tenant
tenant
English
Alternative forms
Noun
tenant (plural tenants)
- One who pays a fee (rent) in return for the use of land, buildings, or other property owned by others.
- (Can we date this quote?), Arthur Morrison, The Thing in the Upper Room:
- Long even before the last tenant had occupied it, the room had been regarded with fear and aversion, and the end of that last tenant had in no way lightened the gloom that hung about the place.
-
- One who has possession of any place; a dweller; an occupant.
- Cowper
- sweet tenants of this grove
- Cowley
- the happy tenant of your shade
- Byron
- the sister tenants of the middle deep
- Cowper
- (law) One who holds a property by any kind of right, including ownership.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Derived terms
Related terms
- tenure
- tenement
Translations
one who pays a fee in return for the use of land, etc.
|
|
occupant
law: one who holds property
See also
Verb
tenant (third-person singular simple present tenants, present participle tenanting, simple past and past participle tenanted)
- To hold as, or be, a tenant.
Translations
to hold as, or be, a tenant
Old French
Alternative forms
- tenaunt (Anglo-Norman, noun, adjective, verb)
Etymology
From the verb tenir (“to hold; to possess”)
Noun
tenant m (oblique plural tenanz or tenantz, nominative singular tenanz or tenantz, nominative plural tenant)
Adjective
tenant m (oblique and nominative feminine singular tenant or tenante)
Verb
tenant
- present participle of tenir
Descendants
References
- (fr) Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (tenant)
- tenant on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub