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tenantry

American  
[ten-uhn-tree] / ˈtɛn ən tri /

noun

  1. tenants collectively; the body of tenants on an estate.

  2. the state or condition of being a tenant.


tenantry British  
/ ˈtɛnəntrɪ /

noun

  1. tenants collectively, esp those with the same landlord

  2. the status or condition of being a tenant

"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

Etymology

Origin of tenantry

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; tenant, -ry

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The system involved the absentee and irresponsible landlord, the rack-renting agent, and a tenantry driven onto smaller and smaller patches of land, until whole families existed on one or even half an acre of soil.

From Time Magazine Archive

Furthermore, he is noted for the keen and intelligent interest he takes in his tenantry in all parts of the country.

From Time Magazine Archive

In Jenkintown, the Philadelphia suburb near which they live, the Bryans' gracious hospitality is a byword and to both gentry and tenantry alike Mr. Bryan is known as Big Hearted Joe.

From Time Magazine Archive

In Wentworth village pubs the local tenantry shook their heads.

From Time Magazine Archive

Their knowledge of simple farming must have been thorough, for the farms of the monasteries were always the most prosperous, and the tenantry were always the happiest.

From The Thirteenth Greatest of Centuries by Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)