terre-tenant

English

Alternative forms

• ter-tenant

Etymology

From French terre (“earth, land”) + tenant, present participle of tenir (“to hold”).

Noun

terre-tenant (plural terre-tenants)

2. (law) One who has the actual possession of land.

   Synonyms: occupant, tenant (“occupant”)

   Coordinate terms: lessee, tenant (“lessee”), renter (all often coinstantial)

4. (law) The owner of land acquired from a judgment debtor.

   Hypernyms: landholder, landowner < owner

6. (law) The owner of land subject to a rentcharge.

   Hypernyms: landholder, landowner < owner

   Coordinate terms: lessor, landlord

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “terre-tenant”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)