Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Possession
Pos-ses′sion
,Noun.
[F.
possession
, L. possessio
.] 1.
The act or state of possessing, or holding as one’s own.
2.
(Law)
The having, holding, or detention of property in one's power or command; actual seizin or occupancy; ownership, whether rightful or wrongful.
☞ 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? Shakespeare
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
,Verb.
T.
To invest with property.
[Obs.]
Webster 1828 Edition
Possession
POSSES'SION
,Noun.
If the possession is severed from the property; if A has the right of property, and B by unlawful means has gained possession, this is an injury to A. This is a bare or naked possession.
In bailment, the bailee, who receives goods to convey, or to keep for a time, has the possession of the goods, and a temporary right over them, but not the property. Property in possession, includes both the right and the occupation. Long undisturbed possession is presumptive proof of right or property in the possessor.
1.
The thing possessed; land, estate or goods owned; as foreign possessions. The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. Obad.17.
When the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Matt.19.
2.
Any thing valuable possessed or enjoyed. Christian peace of mind is the best possession of life.3.
The state of being under the power of demons or invisible beings; madness; lunacy; as demoniacal possession.Writ of possession, a precept directing a sheriff to put a person in peaceable possession of property recovered in ejectment.
To take possession, to enter on, or to bring within one's power or occupancy.
To give possession, to put in another's power or occupancy.
POSSES'SION
,Verb.
T.