Quantcast
 
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

tenements

 - 4 dictionary results

ten⋅e⋅ment

  [ten-uh-muhnt]
–noun
1. Also called tenement house. a run-down and often overcrowded apartment house, esp. in a poor section of a large city.
2. Law.
a. any species of permanent property, as lands, houses, rents, an office, or a franchise, that may be held of another.
b. tenements, freehold interests in things immovable considered as subjects of property.
3. British. an apartment or room rented by a tenant.
4. Archaic. any abode or habitation.
Use tenements in a Sentence
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < ML tenēmentum, equiv. to L tenē(re) to hold + -mentum -ment

Related forms:
ten⋅e⋅men⋅tal  [ten-uh-men-tl] , ten⋅e⋅men⋅ta⋅ry  [ten-uh-men-tuh-ree] , adjective
ten⋅e⋅ment⋅ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To tenements
ten·e·ment   (těn'ə-mənt)   
n.  

  1. A building for human habitation, especially one that is rented to tenants.

  2. A rundown, low-rental apartment building whose facilities and maintenance barely meet minimum standards.

  3. Chiefly British An apartment or room leased to a tenant.

  4. Law Property, such as land, rents, or franchises, held by one person leasing it from another.


[Middle English, house, from Old French, from Medieval Latin tenēmentum, from Latin tenēre, to hold; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]
ten'e·men'tal (-měn'tl) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

tenement 
c.1303, "holding of immovable property" (such as land or buildings,) from Anglo-Fr. (1292) and O.Fr. tenement (12c.), from M.L. tenementum "a holding, fief" (1081), from L. tenere "to hold" (see tenet). The meaning "dwelling place, residence" is attested from c.1425; tenement house "house broken up into apartments, usually in a poor section of a city" is first recorded 1858, Amer.Eng., from tenament in an earlier sense (esp. in Scotland) "large house constructed to be let to a number of tenants" (1693).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: ten·e·ment
Pronunciation: 'te-n&-m&nt
Function: noun
Etymology: Anglo-French, from Old French, from Medieval Latin tenementum, from Latin tenEre 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
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see tenements on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
ExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyThe Daily BeastUrbanspoonAsk AnswersBloglinesSendori