possess

Definition

To have (something) as, or as if as, an owner; to have, to own.

Etymology

PIE word *pótis From Middle English possessen (“to have, own; to obtain possession of; to inhabit, occupy”) [and other forms], from Middle French possesser, possessier, Old French possesser, possessier (“to have, own, possess; to dominate”), from Latin possessus (“possessed; seized”), the perfect passive participle of possideō (“to have, hold, own, possess; to have possessions; to take control or possession of, occupy, seize; to abide, inhabit, occupy; to dominate”), from potis (“able, capable, possible”) (from Proto-Indo-European *pótis (“master; ruler; husband”)) + sedeō (“to sit; to be seated; to be established, hold firm”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”)).

Example Sentences

• "He does not even possess a working telephone."
• "For men being generally poſſeſſed before the time of our Saviour, […] of an opinion, that the Souls of men were ſubſtances diſtinct from their Bodies, and therefore that when the Body was dead, the Soule of every man, whether godly, or wicked, muſt ſubſiſt ſomewhere by vertue of its own nature, without acknowledging therein any ſupernaturall gift of Gods; the Doctors of the Church doubted a long time, what was the place, which they were to abide in, till they ſhould be re-united to their Bodies in the Reſurrection; […]"
• "Even where the affections are not strongly moved by any superior excellence, the companions of our childhood always possess a certain power over our minds, which hardly any later friend can obtain."

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