se-tenant

or se ten·ant

[ suh-ten-uhnt, set-n-ahn, suh-tuh-nahn ]

noun

, Philately.

1. a group of stamps that differ in color, value, or design but are printed together on the same sheet and are collected without separating the stamps.

se tenant

/ sə tənɑ̃ /

adjective

1. denoting two postage stamps of different face values and sometimes of different designs in an unseparated pair

noun

1. such a pair of stamps

Word History and Origins

Origin of se-tenant¹

1910–15; < French: literally, standing, remaining, holding together, equivalent to se 3rd-person singular reflexive pronoun + tenant present participle of tenir to hold ( tenant )

Word History and Origins

Origin of se-tenant¹

literally: holding together