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tenure - 5 dictionary results
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ten⋅ure

  [ten-yer]
Use tenure in a Sentence
–noun
1. the holding or possessing of anything: the tenure of an office.
2. the holding of property, esp. real property, of a superior in return for services to be rendered.
3. the period or term of holding something.
4. status granted to an employee, usually after a probationary period, indicating that the position or employment is permanent.
–verb (used with object)
5. to give tenure to: After she served three years on probation, the committee tenured her.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < AF; OF teneure < VL *tenitura, equiv. to *tenit(us) held (for L tentus, ptp. of tenēre) + -ura -ure

Related forms:
ten⋅u⋅ri⋅al  [ten-yoor-ee-uhl] , adjective
ten⋅u⋅ri⋅al⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ten·ure   (těn'yər, -yŏŏr')   
n.  
    1. The act, fact, or condition of holding something in one's possession, as real estate or an office; occupation.
    2. A period during which something is held.
  2. The status of holding one's position on a permanent basis without periodic contract renewals: a teacher granted tenure on a faculty.

[Middle English, from Old French teneure, from tenir, to hold, from Latin tenēre, to hold; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]
ten·u'ri·al (-yŏŏr'ē-əl) adj., ten·u'ri·al·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Tenure

Ten"ure\, n. [F. tenure, OF. teneure, fr. F. tenir to hold. See Tenable.]

1. The act or right of holding, as property, especially real estate.

That the tenure of estates might rest on equity, the Indian title to lands was in all cases to be quieted. --Bancroft.

2. (Eng. Law) The manner of holding lands and tenements of a superior.

Note: Tenure is inseparable from the idea of property in land, according to the theory of the English law; and this idea of tenure pervades, to a considerable extent, the law of real property in the United States, where the title to land is essentially allodial, and almost all lands are held in fee simple, not of a superior, but the whole right and title to the property being vested in the owner. Tenure, in general, then, is the particular manner of holding real estate, as by exclusive title or ownership, by fee simple, by fee tail, by courtesy, in dower, by copyhold, by lease, at will, etc.

3. The consideration, condition, or service which the occupier of land gives to his lord or superior for the use of his land.

4. Manner of holding, in general; as, in absolute governments, men hold their rights by a precarious tenure.

All that seems thine own, Held by the tenure of his will alone. --Cowper.

Tenure by fee alms. (Law) See Frankalmoigne.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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tenure 
1414, "holding of a tenement," from Anglo-Fr. and O.Fr. tenure "a tenure, estate in land" (13c.), from O.Fr. tenir "to hold," from V.L. *tenire, from L. tenere "to hold" (see tenet). The sense of "condition or fact of holding a status, position, or occupation" is first attested 1599. Meaning "guaranteed tenure of office" (usually at a university or school) is recorded from 1957.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: ten·ure
Pronunciation: 'ten-y&r
Function: noun
Etymology: Anglo-French, feudal holding, from Old French teneüre, from Medieval Latin tenitura, ultimately from Latin tenEre to hold
1 : the act, manner, duration, or right of holding something <tenure of office>; specifically : the manner of holding real property : the title and conditions by which property is held tenure>
2 : a status granted to a teacher usually after a probationary period that protects him or her from dismissal except for reasons of incompetence, gross misconduct, or financial necessity —te·nur·ial /te-'nyur-E-&l/ adjective —te·nur·ial·ly /-&-lE/ adverb
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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