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