Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The heir apparent to an ancient Celtic chief, elected during the chief's lifetime.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The chief, or holder of the lands and honors, in certain Celtic races; sometimes, the chief's chosen successor. See
tanistry .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun In Ireland, a lord or proprietor of a tract of land or of a castle, elected by a family, under the system of tanistry.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The
heir presumptive to a Celtic clan.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Lover, for her love he prowled with colonel Richard Burke, tanist of his sept, under the walls of Clerkenwell and, crouching, saw a flame of vengeance hurl them upward in the fog.
Ulysses 2003
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After the Gospel the king was made to set his right foot in the foot-print of Fergus Mor Mac Erca, the impression of which was cut in stone; there he took an oath to preserve all the ancient customs of the country and to leave the succession to the tanist.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 4: Clandestinity-Diocesan Chancery 1840-1916 1913
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Kings, though taken from one family, were elective, the tanist or heir-apparent being frequently not the nearest relation of him who reigned.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 8: Infamy-Lapparent 1840-1916 1913
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The new ruler was elected unless a tanist (a lieutenant with right of succession) had been elected already.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 4: Clandestinity-Diocesan Chancery 1840-1916 1913
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Lover, for her love he prowled with colonel Richard Burke, tanist of his sept, under the walls of Clerkenwell and, crouching, saw a flame of vengeance hurl them upward in the fog.
Ulysses James Joyce 1911
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To the tanist of O'Donnell, and the Prince of Nial's race.
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North Munster mourned the loss of either its chief or its tanist; some great families lost three, five, or seven brothers on that sanguinary day.
A Popular History of Ireland : from the Earliest Period to the Emancipation of the Catholics — Volume 1 Thomas D'Arcy McGee 1846
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North Munster mourned the loss of either its chief or its tanist; some great families lost three, five, or seven brothers on that sanguinary day.
A Popular History of Ireland : from the Earliest Period to the Emancipation of the Catholics — Complete Thomas D'Arcy McGee 1846
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[3] This was also the case with the Irish tanists, or chiefs of septs; the people elected a tanist, but their choice was confined to the members of the ruling family.
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While standing on the stone, the chief took an oath to preserve all the customs of the country, and the rights of the tanist, or territorial heir.
The life and administration of Cardinal Wolsey Galt, John, 1779-1839 1812
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