The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
POSSESSION
possession
(noun) anything owned or possessed
possession, ownership
(noun) the act of having and controlling property
possession
(noun) (sport) the act of controlling the ball (or puck); “they took possession of the ball on their own goal line”
possession, self-possession, self-control, willpower, will power, self-command, self-will
(noun) the trait of resolutely controlling your own behavior
possession
(noun) a territory that is controlled by a ruling state
monomania, possession
(noun) a mania restricted to one thing or idea
possession
(noun) being controlled by passion or the supernatural
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
possession (countable and uncountable, plural possessions)
Control or occupancy of something for which one does not necessarily have private property rights.
Something that is owned.
Ownership; taking, holding, keeping something as one's own.
A territory under the rule of another country.
The condition or affliction of being possessed by a demon or other supernatural entity.
The condition of being under the control of strong emotion or madness.
(sports) Control of the ball; the opportunity to be on the offensive.
(Australian rules football) A disposal of the ball during a game, i.e. a kick or a handball.
(linguistics) A syntactic relationship between two nouns or nominals that may be used to indicate ownership.
Usage notes
• One who possesses is often said to have possession (of), hold possession (of), or be in possession (of).
• One who acquires is often said to take possession (of), gain possession (of), or come into possession (of).
Synonyms
• ight (obsolete)
• (taking, holding, keeping something as one's own): owndom, retention
• See also property
Antonyms
• (taking, holding, keeping something as one's own): absence
Hyponyms
• mortmain
Verb
possession (third-person singular simple present possessions, present participle possessioning, simple past and past participle possessioned)
(obsolete) To invest with property.
Source: Wiktionary
Pos*ses"sion, n. Etym: [F. possession, L. possessio.]
1. The act or state of possessing, or holding as one's own.
2. (Law)
Definition: The having, holding, or detention of property in one's power or command; actual seizin or occupancy; ownership, whether rightful or wrongful.
Note: Possession may be either actual or constructive; actual, when a party has the immediate occupancy; constructive, when he has only the right to such occupancy.
3. The thing possessed; that which any one occupies, owns, or controls; in the plural, property in the aggregate; wealth; dominion; as, foreign possessions. When the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Matt. xix. 22. Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. Acts v. 1. The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. Ob. 17.
4. The state of being possessed or controlled, as by an evil spirit, or violent passions; madness; frenzy; as, demoniacal possession. How long hath this possession held the man Shak. To give possession, to put in another's power or occupancy.
– To put in possession. (a) To invest with ownership or occupancy; to provide or furnish with; as, to put one in possession of facts or information. (b) (Law) To place one in charge of property recovered in ejectment or writ of entry.
– To take possession, to enter upon, or to bring within one's power or occupancy.
– Writ of possession (Law), a precept directing a sheriff to put a person in peaceable possession of property recovered in ejectment or writ of entry.
Pos*ses"sion, v. t.
Definition: To invest with property. [Obs.]
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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