tanist /ˈtænɪst/ noun1 •(historical) The heir presumptive to the chieftainship or kingship of a Celtic clan in ancient Ireland, Scotland or Mann.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. — 1922 formstanists