tenement

[ ten-uh-muhnt ]

noun

1. Also called tenement house. a run-down and often overcrowded apartment house, especially in a poor section of a large city.
2. Law.
   1. any species of permanent property, as lands, houses, rents, an office, or a franchise, that may be held of another.
   2. tenements, freehold interests in things immovable considered as subjects of property.
3. British. an apartment or room rented by a tenant.
4. Archaic. any abode or habitation.

tenement

/ ˈtɛnəmənt; ˌtɛnəˈmɛntəl /

noun

1. Also calledtenement building (now esp in Scotland) a large building divided into separate flats
2. a dwelling place or residence, esp one intended for rent
3. a room or flat for rent
4. property law any form of permanent property, such as land, dwellings, offices, etc

Derived Forms

• tenemental, adjective
• ˈteneˌmented, adjective

Other Words From

• ten·e·men·tal [ten-, uh, -, men, -tl], ten·e·men·ta·ry [ten-, uh, -, men, -t, uh, -ree], adjective
• tene·ment·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tenement¹

1250–1300; Middle English < Medieval Latin tenēmentum, equivalent to Latin tenē ( re ) to hold + -mentum -ment

Word History and Origins

Origin of tenement¹

C14: from Medieval Latin tenementum, from Latin tenēre to hold

Example Sentences

In a small, crowded tenement in the slums of India's Pune city, Shailaja Paik grew up, surrounded by alleys strewn with garbage and battling the daily challenges of limited water and no private toilet.

From BBC

Morton was found guilty of indecently assaulting a woman in a tenement close in Glasgow in 1936.

From BBC

Trudy’s swim inspires the whole world, including her hometown of New York City, the tenement buildings filled with immigrants listening to her journey on the radio.

From Los Angeles Times

Her debut single Shout, took the 15-year-old out of her Glasgow tenement and into the charts.

From BBC

These features made early 20th century Los Angeles apartment buildings widely celebrated, while reformers in New York and elsewhere railed against dense “tenements.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• rookery
• slum