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A holding, or a mode of holding, an estate; tenure; the temporary possession of what belongs to another.

One who holds or possesses lands, or other real estate, by any kind of right, whether in fee simple, in common, in severalty, for life, for years, or at will; also, one who has the occupation or temporary possession of lands or tenements the title of which is in another; -- correlative to landlord. See Citation from Bl…

, and the like; -- called also free or frank tenements. The thing held is a tenement, the possessor of it a "tenant," and the manner of possession is called "tenure." Blackstone.

One who has the actual possession of land; the occupant. [Written also ter-tenant.]

Possessed of territory. [R.]

Possessing some quality in the third degree; having been subjected to the substitution of three atoms or radicals; as, a tertiary alcohol, amine, or salt. Cf. Primary, and Secondary. (CH3)3C.OH.

Of or pertaining to a tetrad; possessing or having the characteristics of a tetrad; as, a carbon is a tetradic element.

The possessive case of the personal pronoun they; as, their houses; their country.

The property possessed by heat of being composed, like light, of rays of different degrees of refrangibility, which are unequal in rate or degree of transmission through diathermic substances.

The property possessed by protoplasm of moving under the influence of heat.

The property possessed by living protoplasm of contracting, and thus moving, when touched by a solid or fluid substance.

A form of the possessive case of the pronoun thou, now superseded in common discourse by your, the possessive of you, but maintaining a place in solemn discourse, in poetry, and in the usual language of the Friends, or Quakers.

Whatever may be possessed or owned; a property; -- distinguished from person.

The right which the owner of a mill possesses, by contract or law, to compel the tenants of a certain district, or of his sucken, to bring all their grain to his mill for grinding. Erskine.

Of thee, or belonging to thee; the more common form of thine, possessive case of thou; -- used always attributively, and chiefly in the solemn or grave style, and in poetry. Thine is used in the predicate; as, the knife is thine. See Thine. Our father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy wil…

That which constitutes a just cause of exclusive possession; that which is the foundation of ownership of property, real or personal; a right; as, a good title to an estate, or an imperfect title.

The power possessed or acquired by some persons of bearing doses of medicine which in ordinary cases would prove injurious or fatal. Tolerance of the mint. (Coinage) Same as Remedy of the mint. See under Remedy.

vocates and practices manual labor, simplicity of living, nonresistance, etc., holds that possession of wealth and ownership of property are sinful, and in religion rejects all teachings not coming from Christ himself.

for the purpose in hand was to employ some one of a character and position suited to get possession of their confidence, and then use it to tone down their religious strictures. Palfrey. -- To tone up, to cause to give a higher tone or sound; to give a higher tone to; to make more intense; to heighten; to strengthen.…

sed, as a fleet on the ocean. Shak. To toss for, to throw dice or a coin to determine the possession of; to gamble for. -- To toss up, to throw a coin into the air, and wager on which side it will fall, or determine a question by its fall. Bramsion.