Tenure
/ˈtɛn.jʊər/noun
The condition of holding or possessing something, especially land or a job, for a period of time.
Did you know?Tenure comes from the same Latin root as *tenant*, and both trace back to the idea of “holding” something in your hands—language that once defined land, loyalty, and power.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ten-
“to stretch; to hold”
Latin
Latin
tenēre
“to hold, keep, possess”
Late Latin
Latin
tenūra
“a holding, tenure; possession”
Old French
Old French
tenure
“a holding, a possession; tenure of land”
Middle English
English
tenure
“holding of land or office under certain conditions”
Modern English
English
tenure
“the holding of land, a position, or an office”