tenant

Definition

One who holds a lease (a tenancy).

Etymology

From Middle English tenaunt, from Anglo-Norman tenaunt and Old French tenant, present participle of tenir (“to hold”), from Latin tenēre (“hold, keep”).

Example Sentences

• "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."
• "You are just a tenant here, you say / Living in and out of this life / As cheaply as you can"
• "c. 1782-1783, William Cowper, Joy in Martyrdom sweet tenants of this grove"

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