tenure

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The act, fact, or condition of holding something in one's possession, as real estate or an office; occupation.
2. n. A period during which something is held.
3. n. The status of holding one's position on a permanent basis without periodic contract renewals: a teacher granted tenure on a faculty.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The nature of the right or title by which property, especially real property, is held; also, the property so held. ; . Land-tenure is, in the main, either feudal or allodial. According to the latter tenure, the whole right and title to the land rests with the owner, subject only to the right of the state, and this is the principle of United States law; according to the former, the person possessing the land holds it from a superior, and this is the principle of English law. According to the theory in England, all land is held of the crown, either mediately or immediately. The ownership of land is therefore never unlimited as to extent, for he who is the owner of land in fee, which is the largest estate that a man can have in land, is not absolute owner; he owes services in respect of his fee (or flef), and the seigniory of the lord always subsists. All land in the hands of any layman is held of some lord, to whom the holder or tenant owes some service; but in the case of church lands, although they are held by tenure, no temporal services are due, but the lord of whom these lands are held must be considered the owner, although the beneficial ownership can never revert to the lord. All the species of ancient tenures may be reduced to four, three of which still subsist: tenure by knight-service, which was the most honorable (now abolished)
2. n. The consideration or service which the occupier of land pays to his lord or superior for the use of his land, or the condition on which he holds it.
3. n. Holding, or manner of holding, in general; the terms or conditions on which, or the period during which, anything is held.
4. n. Quality with respect to proportion of ingredients.
5. n. An act of 1867 (14 Stat. 430; Rev. Stat. § 1767 et seq.), providing that persons appointed to civil offices by the President, and confirmed by the Senate, excepting members of the cabinet, shall hold such offices until their successors are qualified, subject to suspension by the, President, during the recess of the Senate, for misconduct; and that they can be removed only with the consent of the Senate.

Wiktionary

1. n. A status of possessing a thing or an office; an incumbency.
2. n. A period of time during which it is possessed.
3. n. A status of having a permanent post with enhanced job security within an academic institution.
4. n. A right to hold land under the feudal system.
5. v. transitive To grant tenure, the status of having a permanent academic position, to (someone).

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The act or right of holding, as property, especially real estate.
2. n. (Eng. Law) The manner of holding lands and tenements of a superior.
3. n. The consideration, condition, or service which the occupier of land gives to his lord or superior for the use of his land.
4. n. Manner of holding, in general.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. give life-time employment to
2. n. the right to hold property; part of an ancient hierarchical system of holding lands
3. n. the term during which some position is held