tanist (tanist)

[Also tanaist; tanaiste, a lord, the governor of a country, the presumptive or apparent heir to a lord, Every Signory or Chiefry, with the portion of land which pa ed with it, went without partition to the Tanist , who always came in by election or with the strong hand, and not by descent. Maine , Early Hist. of Institutions, p. 185. tanistiht, n. [Repr. Ir. tanaisteachd , tanistry, tanaiste , tanist: see tanist .] Same as tan is try. tanistry (tan'is-tri), n. [ : see- ery .] A mode of tenure that prevailed among various Celtic tribes, according to which the tanist, or holder of honors and lands, held them only for life, and his succe or was fixed by election. According to this custom the right of succe ion was not in the individual, but in the family to which he belonged that is, succe ion was hereditary in the family, but elective in the individual. The primitive intention seems to have been that the inheritance should descend to the oldest or the most worthy of the blood and name of the deceased. This was in reality giving it to the strongest, cation. The judge puts his mind to the tangle of contradictions in the case. Emerson, Courage. Forest tangle, a virgin forest encumbered or rendered impa able by underwood, vines, creepers, or fallen trees; a jungle. tangle3t, a. [ME. tanggyl; origin obscure. Cf. tanglesome2.] Froward; peevish. [Rare.] Tanggyl , or froward and angry. Bilosus, felleus. tangle berry (tang'gl-ber"i), berry: same as blue tangle. Prompt. Parv., p. 486. n. The dangle