Tanists is a 7 letter English word. It's valid Scrabble word worth 6 points. It's valid Words with friends word worth 7 points.
You can make 131 anagrams from letters in tanists (ainsstt).
First recorded in 1530-40, tanist is from the Irish word tánaiste second, substitute, heir by election
Bo-aires of this class, to avoid the gavelling of their property, elected a tanist—the Tanaise Bo-aire.
The "tanist" stood next to the chief, and was his successor.
Other monoliths are probably the tanist Stones, where the new chief or king was elected, and sworn to protect and lead his people.
Very often the sons refused to accept the tanist, and bloody quarrels followed.
To avert strife his tanist, or successor, was elected in his lifetime.
This story must have been an after-thought, to account for what we may suppose to have been a prehistoric tanist stone.
The use of the tanist Stone is, like so many other primitive customs, of Eastern origin, and traceable to a very remote era.
Ultramon′tanism, ultramontane or extreme views as to the Pope's rights; Ultramon′tanist, one who holds to ultramontanism.