-nsē, -si noun
( -es )
Etymology: occupant + -cy
1.
a. : the taking and holding possession of real property under a lease or tenancy at will
b. : the act of taking possession of something that has no owner (as a waif or derelict) and thus acquiring title to it
2.
a. : the act of becoming an occupant or the condition of being an occupant
between successive human occupancies, the caves were often used by wild animals — R.W.Murray
the essential quality of his existence consists in his occupancy of this world of symbols and ideas — L.A.White
ten years of uninterrupted occupancy of this position
b. : the condition of being occupied
though the village site showed two levels of occupancy , the temple mound showed three — American Guide Series: Tennessee
ghetto-slums which were both substandard and homogeneous in their occupancy — Charles Abrams
3. : the particular use or type of use to which property (as a building or part of a building) is put
residential occupancy
industrial occupancy
storage occupancy
4. : an occupied building or part of a building (as an apartment or office)