tenant in chief

or tenant-in-chief

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noun

a feudal vassal who holds land directly from the king.

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Also called ten·ant in cap·i·te

[kap-i-tee]. /ˈkæp ɪ ti/.

Origin of tenant in chief

First recorded in 1600–10

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for tenant in chief

“Having been a legislator and a mayor, I particularly enjoy being a chief executive,” he said.
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This is a blow against freedom of speech, we were told, by the likes of Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson.
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“You can imagine the sound of that gun on a Bronx street,” Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce says.
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Take the chief metric of the war in Vietnam—body counts, which ultimately did not answer whether the strategy was working.
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This is a guy who has his son-in-law clean his eyeglasses, for crying out loud.
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She is skilful in seizing salient characteristics, and her chief aim is to preserve the individuality of her sitters and models.
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M'Bongo, the great chief of this neighbourhood, paid a ceremonial visit to my husband.
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But,” said the prime minister of Flatland, starting a difficulty, “who is to be greatest chief?
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
But it was not only as an organiser and transmitter of orders that Berthier proved his usefulness to his chief.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
By the end of the campaign of 1796 he had proved that he was as great a chief of the staff as Bonaparte was a great commander.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison

British Dictionary definitions for tenant in chief

tenant-in-chief

noun

(in feudal society) a tenant who held some or all of his lands directly from the king

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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tenant in chief

or tenant-in-chief

noun

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON “ITS” VS. “IT’S”!

Origin of tenant in chief

Example sentences from the Web for tenant in chief

British Dictionary definitions for tenant in chief

noun