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tenure

verb

  1. to give lifetime employment to
L333249 on Wikidata ↗

noun

  1. length of service
  2. assured continued employment
L43676 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈtɛn.jʊə/ / /ˈtɛn.jə/ / /ˈtɛn.jɚ/

noun

Etymology: From Middle English tenure, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French tenure, from Vulgar Latin *tenitura, from *tenitus, from Latin tentus (from teneō) + -ura.

  1. A status of possessing a thing or an office; an incumbency.

    All that seems thine own, / Held by the tenure of his will alone.

    It will be rather entertaining to watch Merriman when he first faces the Transport Select Committee, with his former colleagues likely to be merciless in their questioning. During his tenure, Merriman was pretty sharp, which was no bad thing, and they will make sure he gets a dose of his own medicine.

  2. A period of time during which something is possessed.
  3. A status of having a permanent post with enhanced job security within an academic institution.
  4. A right to hold land under the feudal system.

verb

Etymology: From Middle English tenure, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French tenure, from Vulgar Latin *tenitura, from *tenitus, from Latin tentus (from teneō) + -ura.

  1. To grant tenure, the status of having a permanent academic position, to (someone).