/ ˈtenənt; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
a person who pays rent for the use of a room, building, land, etc. to the person who owns it :
They had evicted their tenants for non-payment of rent.
The decorating was done by a previous tenant.
tenant farmers (= ones who do not own their own farms)
■ verb
[ vn ] [ usually passive ] to live or work in a place as a tenant :
a tenanted farm
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old French , literally holding , present participle of tenir , from Latin tenere .