Tenement

Tenement
Tenement Ten"e*ment, n. [OF. tenement a holding, a fief, F. t[`e]nement, LL. tenementum, fr. L. tenere to hold. See {Tenant}.] 1. (Feud. Law) That which is held of another by service; property which one holds of a lord or proprietor in consideration of some military or pecuniary service; fief; fee. [1913 Webster]

2. (Common Law) Any species of permanent property that may be held, so as to create a tenancy, as lands, houses, rents, commons, an office, an advowson, a franchise, a right of common, a peerage, and the like; -- called also {free tenements} or {frank tenements}. [1913 Webster]

The thing held is a tenement, the possessor of it a ``tenant,'' and the manner of possession is called ``tenure.'' --Blackstone. [1913 Webster]

3. A dwelling house; a building for a habitation; also, an apartment, or suite of rooms, in a building, used by one family; often, a house erected to be rented. [1913 Webster]

4. Fig.: Dwelling; abode; habitation. [1913 Webster]

Who has informed us that a rational soul can inhabit no tenement, unless it has just such a sort of frontispiece? --Locke. [1913 Webster]

5. A {tenement house}. [PJC]

{Tenement house}, commonly, a dwelling house erected for the purpose of being rented, and divided into separate apartments or tenements for families. The term is often applied to apartment houses occupied by poor families, often overcrowded and in poor condition. [1913 Webster +PJC]

Syn: House; dwelling; habitation.

Usage: {Tenement}, {House}. There may be many houses under one roof, but they are completely separated from each other by party walls. A tenement may be detached by itself, or it may be part of a house divided off for the use of a family. In modern usage, a tenement or tenement house most commonly refers to the meaning given for {tenement house}, above. [1913 Webster +PJC]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • tenement — ten·e·ment / te nə mənt/ n [Anglo French, from Old French, from Medieval Latin tenementum, from Latin tenēre to hold] 1 a: any of various forms of property (as land) that is held by one person from another b: an estate in property 2: dwelling …   Law dictionary

  • tènement — [ tɛnmɑ̃ ] n. m. • XIIe; de tenir 1 ♦ Féod. Terre tenue d un seigneur. ⇒ tenure. 2 ♦ Région. Réunion de propriétés contiguës. « La Jassine et Théotime formeraient désormais un seul tènement dans les mains du dernier héritier de la race » (Bosco) …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • tenement — ten‧e‧ment [ˈtenmənt] noun 1. [uncountable] LAW PROPERTY real property (= land and buildings) belonging to one owner 2. [countable] LAW …   Financial and business terms

  • tenement — (n.) c.1300, holding of immovable property (such as land or buildings,) from Anglo Fr. (late 13c.) and O.Fr. tenement (12c.), from M.L. tenementum a holding, fief (11c.), from L. tenere to hold (see TENET (Cf. tenet)). The meaning dwelling place …   Etymology dictionary

  • tenement — Tenement, m. acut. Proprement prins est le païs, contrée, et terres que quelqu un tien et possede. Jean le Maire, Noe ordonna Sabbatius Roy sur une bande de gens qu il envoya habiter en Armenie, et confina leur tenement depuis Armenie jusques à… …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • tenement — ► NOUN 1) (especially in Scotland or the US) a separate residence within a house or block of flats. 2) (also tenement house) a house divided into several separate residences. 3) a piece of land held by an owner. ORIGIN Latin tenementum, from… …   English terms dictionary

  • tenement — [ten′ə mənt] n. [ME < OFr, a holding < ML tenementum < L tenere, to hold: see TENANT] 1. Law land, buildings, offices, franchises, etc. held of another by tenure 2. a dwelling house 3. a room or set of rooms tenanted as a separate… …   English World dictionary

  • tenement — [n] apartment house apartment complex, boarding house, coop, cooperative, den*, digs*, dump*, flat, high rise, high rise apartment building, living quarters, pad*, project housing, rental, slum; concepts 448,516 …   New thesaurus

  • tenement — [[t]te̱nəmənt[/t]] tenements 1) N COUNT A tenement is a large, old building which is divided into a number of individual flats. ...elegant 19th century tenement buildings. 2) N COUNT A tenement is one of the flats in a tenement. ...the cramped… …   English dictionary

  • tènement — (tè ne man) s. m. 1°   Terme de féodalité. Métairie dépendante d une seigneurie. 2°   Aujourd hui, un tènement de maisons, maisons qui se tiennent. Vendre un tènement de maisons. HISTORIQUE    XIIe s. •   E que li arcevesques e li suen ensement… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”