tenured

[ten-yerd]

adjective

of, having, or eligible for tenure, especially in a college or university: There are three tenured professors in the history department.
granting, allowing, or leading to tenure: None of the advertised jobs is a tenured position.

Origin of tenured

First recorded in 1960–65; tenure + -ed³

tenure

[ten-yer]

noun

the holding or possessing of anything: the tenure of an office.
the holding of property, especially real property, of a superior in return for services to be rendered.
the period or term of holding something.
status granted to an employee, usually after a probationary period, indicating that the position or employment is permanent.

verb (used with object)

to give tenure to: After she served three years on probation, the committee tenured her.

Origin of tenure

1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French; Old French teneure < Vulgar Latin *tenitura, equivalent to *tenit(us) held (for Latin tentus, past participle of tenēre) + -ura -ure

Related formsten·u·ri·al

[ten-yoo r-ee-uh l] /tɛnˈyʊər i əl/, adjectiveten·u·ri·al·ly, adverbnon·ten·u·ri·al, adjectivenon·ten·u·ri·al·ly, adverbun·der·ten·ure, noun

Can be confusedtender tenor tenure

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tenured

Contemporary Examples of tenured

One interpretation suggests he is the embodiment of whisky, a lewd allusion to a tenured tradition of Scottish alcoholism.
Scotland’s ‘Yes’ Campaign and the Myth of Scottish Equality
Noah Caldwell
September 18, 2014
Even though I was tenured, if I left my once-beloved Mormon faith, I would lose my job.
A Brigham Young University Professor’s Escape from Mormonism
Lynn K. Wilder
October 20, 2013
So instead, he taught a semester here and a semester there, filling in for tenured writers who were off somewhere else, writing.
A Plot Against Living: J.F. Powers’s ‘Suitable Accommodations’
D. G. Myers
August 20, 2013
I feel this way now more than ever, because I took a big risk and quit a tenured job at an M.F.A. program.
Benjamin Percy: How I Write
Noah Charney
June 5, 2013
At this point, says Campos, law school is largely serving the needs of only one group: tenured law professors.
Law School Enrollments are Plummeting. What Happens Next?
Megan McArdle
January 18, 2013

British Dictionary definitions for tenured

tenured

adjective

mainly US and Canadian
1. having tenure of officea tenured professor
2. guaranteeing tenure of officea tenured post

tenure

noun

the possession or holding of an office or position
the length of time an office, position, etc, lasts; term
mainly US and Canadian the improved security status of a person after having been in the employ of the same company or institution for a specified period
the right to permanent employment until retirement, esp for teachers, lecturers, etc
property law
1. the holding or occupying of property, esp realty, in return for services rendered, etc
2. the duration of such holding or occupation

Derived Formstenurial, adjectivetenurially, adverb

Word Origin for tenure

C15: from Old French, from Medieval Latin tenitūra, ultimately from Latin tenēre to hold

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

Word Origin and History for tenured

tenure

early 15c., "holding of a tenement," from Anglo-French and Old French tenure "a tenure, estate in land" (13c.), from Old French tenir "to hold," from Vulgar Latin *tenire, from Latin tenere "to hold" (see tenet). The sense of "condition or fact of holding a status, position, or occupation" is first attested 1590s. Meaning "guaranteed tenure of office" (usually at a university or school) is recorded from 1957.