Legal Dictionary
Main Entry:
terre tenantPronunciation:
'ter-, 't&r-Function:
nounEtymology: Anglo-French
terre tenaunt freeholder, from Old French
terre land +
tenant holding, from present participle of
tenir to hold
: one in actual possession of land;
specifically : one who purchases land after a lien of mortgage or judgment has attached —used chiefly in the law of Pennsylvania
