Tan"ist (?), n. [Ir. tanaiste, tanaise, second, the second person in rank, the presumptive or apparent heir to a prince.]

In Ireland, a lord or proprietor of a tract of land or of a castle, elected by a family, under the system of tanistry.

This family [the O'Hanlons] were tanists of a large territory within the present county of Armagh. M. A. Lower.

 

© Webster 1913.

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