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ten·ant

(tĕnənt)

1. One that pays rent to use or occupy land, a building, or other property owned by another.

2. A dweller in a place; an occupant.

tr. & intr.v. ten·ant·ed, ten·ant·ing, ten·ants

To hold as a tenant or be a tenant.

[Middle English, from Old French, from present participle of tenir, to hold, from Latin tenēre; see ten- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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