The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Tenancy \Ten"an*cy\, n.; pl. Tenacies. [Cf. OF. tenace, LL.
   tenentia. See Tenant.] (Law)
   (a) A holding, or a mode of holding, an estate; tenure; the
       temporary possession of what belongs to another.
   (b) (O. Eng. Law) A house for habitation, or place to live
       in, held of another. --Blount. Blackstone. Wharton.
       [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

tenancy
    n 1: an act of being a tenant or occupant [syn: occupancy,
         tenancy]