chattel

Definition

Tangible, movable property.

Etymology

From Middle English chatel, from Old French chatel, from Medieval Latin capitāle (English capital), from Latin capitālis (“of the head”), from caput (“head”) + -alis (“-al”). Compare the doublet cattle (“cows”), which is from an Anglo-Norman variant. Compare also capital and kith and kine (“all one’s possessions”), which also use “cow” to mean “property”.

Example Sentences

• "[…] although of course the firm had changed hands many times over the centuries, […] But the box has always been part of the chattels, as it were."
• "Not all his servants and chattels are wraiths!"

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