What is TENERE

Lat. In the civil law . To hold; to hold fast; to have in possession; to retain. In relation to the doctrine of possession, this term expresses merely the fact of manual detention, or the corporal possession of any object, without involving the question of title; while habere (and especially possidere) denotes the maintenance of possession by a lawful claim; i. e., civil possession, as distinguished from mere natural possession.