possession

English Online Dictionary. What means possession‎? What does possession mean?

English

Etymology

From Latin possessiō, possessiōnis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pəˈzɛʃən/
• Rhymes: -ɛʃən

Noun

possession (countable and uncountable, plural possessions)

1. Control or occupancy of something for which one does not necessarily have private property rights.

   Hyponym: mortmain
2. Something that is owned.

   Synonyms: (obsolete) ight; see also Thesaurus:property

3. Ownership; taking, holding, keeping something as one's own.

   Synonyms: owndom, retention; see also Thesaurus:ownership

   Antonym: absence

4. A territory under the rule of another country.

5. The condition or affliction of being possessed by a demon or other supernatural entity.

   Synonym: (obsolete) enthusiasm
6. The condition of being under the control of strong emotion or madness.
7. (sports) Control of the ball; the opportunity to be on the offensive.
8. (Australian rules football) A disposal of the ball during a game, i.e. a kick or a handball.
   • 2019 In the mix: Who's pushing for selection for round eight? Australian Football League, 7 May 2019. Accessed 7 May 2019.

     Defender Colin O'Riordan had 41 possessions in the NEAFL last week to continue his outstanding form, while Ryan Clarke had 47 in the Swans' big loss to Brisbane.

9. (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).

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

possession (third-person singular simple present possessions, present participle possessioning, simple past and past participle possessioned)

1. (obsolete) To invest with property.

References

French

Etymology

From Latin possessionem (nominative of possessio).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɔ.sɛ.sjɔ̃/ ~ /pɔ.se.sjɔ̃/

Noun

possession f (plural possessions)

1. possession

Derived terms

• prendre possession

Further reading

• “possession”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.