To have as a quality, characteristic, or other attribute: possessed great tact.
To acquire mastery of or have knowledge of: possess valuable data.
To gain or exert influence or control over; dominate: Fury possessed me.
To control or maintain (one's nature) in a particular condition: I possessed my temper despite the insult.
To cause to own, hold, or master something, such as property or knowledge: She possessed herself of the unclaimed goods.
To cause to be influenced or controlled, as by an idea or emotion: The thought of getting rich possessed him.
Obsolete To gain or seize.
[Middle English possessen, from Old French possesser, from Latin possidēre, possess- : pos-, as master; see poti- in Indo-European roots + sedēre, to sit; see sed- in Indo-European roots.]
1483, "to hold, occupy, reside in" (without regard to ownership), from O.Fr. possessier (1269), from L. possess-, pp. stem of possidere "to possess." Meaning "to hold as property" is recorded from c.1500. Demonic sense is recorded from 1534 (implied in possessed). Possessive first attested 1530 in grammatical sense.
Dis`pos*sess"\ (?; see Possess), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dispossessed; p. pr. & vb. n. Dispossessing.] [Pref. dis- + possess: cf. F. d['e]poss['e]der.] To put out of possession; to deprive of the actual occupancy of, particularly of land or real estate; to disseize; to eject; -- usually followed by of before the thing taken away; as, to dispossess a king of his crown. Usurp the land, and dispossess the swain. --Goldsmith.
Have\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Had; p. pr. & vb. n. Having. Indic. present, I have, thou hast, he has; we, ye, they have.] [OE. haven, habben, AS. habben (imperf. h[ae]fde, p. p. geh[ae]fd); akin to OS. hebbian, D. hebben, OFries, hebba, OHG. hab?n, G. haben, Icel. hafa, Sw. hafva, Dan. have, Goth. haban, and prob. to L. habere, whence F. avoir. Cf. Able, Avoirdupois, Binnacle, Habit.]1. To hold in possession or control; to own; as, he has a farm. 2. To possess, as something which appertains to, is connected with, or affects, one. The earth hath bubbles, as the water has. --Shak. He had a fever late. --Keats. 3. To accept possession of; to take or accept. Break thy mind to me in broken English; wilt thou have me? --Shak. 4. To get possession of; to obtain; to get. --Shak. 5. To cause or procure to be; to effect; to exact; to desire; to require. It had the church accurately described to me. --Sir W. Scott. Wouldst thou have me turn traitor also? --Ld. Lytton. 6. To bear, as young; as, she has just had a child. 7. To hold, regard, or esteem. Of them shall I be had in honor. --2 Sam. vi. 22. 8. To cause or force to go; to take. "The stars have us to bed." --Herbert. "Have out all men from me." --2 Sam. xiii. 9. 9. To take or hold (one's self); to proceed promptly; -- used reflexively, often with ellipsis of the pronoun; as, to have after one; to have at one or at a thing, i. e., to aim at one or at a thing; to attack; to have with a companion. --Shak. 10. To be under necessity or obligation; to be compelled; followed by an infinitive. Science has, and will long have, to be a divider and a separatist. --M. Arnold. The laws of philology have to be established by external comparison and induction. --Earle. 11. To understand. You have me, have you not? --Shak. 12. To put in an awkward position; to have the advantage of; as, that is where he had him. [Slang] Note: Have, as an auxiliary verb, is used with the past participle to form preterit tenses; as, I have loved; I shall have eaten. Originally it was used only with the participle of transitive verbs, and denoted the possession of the object in the state indicated by the participle; as, I have conquered him, I have or hold him in a conquered state; but it has long since lost this independent significance, and is used with the participles both of transitive and intransitive verbs as a device for expressing past time. Had is used, especially in poetry, for would have or should have. Myself for such a face had boldly died. --Tennyson. To have a care, to take care; to be on one's guard. To have (a man) out, to engage (one) in a duel. To have done (with). See under Do, v. i. To have it out, to speak freely; to bring an affair to a conclusion. To have on, to wear. To have to do with. See under Do, v. t. Syn: To possess; to own. See Possess.
Pos*sess"\ (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Possessed; p. pr. & vb. n. Possessing.] [L. possessus, p. p. of possidere to have, possess, from an inseparable prep. (cf. Position) + sedere to sit. See Sit.]1. To occupy in person; to hold or actually have in one's own keeping; to have and to hold. Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land. --Jer. xxxii. 15. Yet beauty, though injurious, hath strange power, After offense returning, to regain Love once possessed. --Milton. 2. To have the legal title to; to have a just right to; to be master of; to own; to have; as, to possess property, an estate, a book. I am yours, and all that I possess. --Shak. 3. To obtain occupation or possession of; to accomplish; to gain; to seize. How . . . to possess the purpose they desired. --Spenser. 4. To enter into and influence; to control the will of; to fill; to affect; -- said especially of evil spirits, passions, etc. "Weakness possesseth me." --Shak. Those which were possessed with devils. --Matt. iv. 24. For ten inspired, ten thousand are possessed. --Roscommon. 5. To put in possession; to make the owner or holder of property, power, knowledge, etc.; to acquaint; to inform; -- followed by of or with before the thing possessed, and now commonly used reflexively. I have possessed your grace of what I purpose. --Shak. Record a gift . . . of all he dies possessed Unto his son. --Shak. We possessed our selves of the kingdom of Naples. --Addison. To possess our minds with an habitual good intention. --Addison. Syn: To have; hold; occupy; control; own. Usage: Possess, Have. Have is the more general word. To possess denotes to have as a property. It usually implies more permanence or definiteness of control or ownership than is involved in having. A man does not possess his wife and children: they are (so to speak) part of himself. For the same reason, we have the faculties of reason, understanding, will, sound judgment, etc.: they are exercises of the mind, not possessions.
Pos*sess"\ (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Possessed; p. pr. & vb. n. Possessing.] [L. possessus, p. p. of possidere to have, possess, from an inseparable prep. (cf. Position) + sedere to sit. See Sit.]1. To occupy in person; to hold or actually have in one's own keeping; to have and to hold. Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land. --Jer. xxxii. 15. Yet beauty, though injurious, hath strange power, After offense returning, to regain Love once possessed. --Milton. 2. To have the legal title to; to have a just right to; to be master of; to own; to have; as, to possess property, an estate, a book. I am yours, and all that I possess. --Shak. 3. To obtain occupation or possession of; to accomplish; to gain; to seize. How . . . to possess the purpose they desired. --Spenser. 4. To enter into and influence; to control the will of; to fill; to affect; -- said especially of evil spirits, passions, etc. "Weakness possesseth me." --Shak. Those which were possessed with devils. --Matt. iv. 24. For ten inspired, ten thousand are possessed. --Roscommon. 5. To put in possession; to make the owner or holder of property, power, knowledge, etc.; to acquaint; to inform; -- followed by of or with before the thing possessed, and now commonly used reflexively. I have possessed your grace of what I purpose. --Shak. Record a gift . . . of all he dies possessed Unto his son. --Shak. We possessed our selves of the kingdom of Naples. --Addison. To possess our minds with an habitual good intention. --Addison. Syn: To have; hold; occupy; control; own. Usage: Possess, Have. Have is the more general word. To possess denotes to have as a property. It usually implies more permanence or definiteness of control or ownership than is involved in having. A man does not possess his wife and children: they are (so to speak) part of himself. For the same reason, we have the faculties of reason, understanding, will, sound judgment, etc.: they are exercises of the mind, not possessions.
Sit\, v. i. [imp. Sat(Sate, archaic); p. p. Sat (Sitten, obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. Sitting.] [OE. sitten, AS. sittan; akin to OS. sittian, OFries. sitta, D. zitten, G. sitzen, OHG. sizzen, Icel. sitja, SW. sitta, Dan. sidde, Goth. sitan, Russ. sidiete, L. sedere, Gr. ???, Skr. sad. [root]154. Cf. Assess,Assize, Cathedral, Chair, Dissident, Excise, Insidious, Possess, Reside, Sanhedrim, Seance, Seat, n., Sedate, 4th Sell, Siege, Session, Set, v. t., Sizar, Size, Subsidy.]1. To rest upon the haunches, or the lower extremity of the trunk of the body; -- said of human beings, and sometimes of other animals; as, to sit on a sofa, on a chair, or on the ground. And he came and took the book put of the right hand of him that sate upon the seat. --Bible (1551) (Rev. v. 7.) I pray you, jest, sir, as you sit at dinner. --Shak. 2. To perch; to rest with the feet drawn up, as birds do on a branch, pole, etc. 3. To remain in a state of repose; to rest; to abide; to rest in any position or condition. And Moses said to . . . the children of Reuben, Shall your brothren go to war, and shall ye sit here? --Num. xxxii. 6. Like a demigod here sit I in the sky. --Shak. 4. To lie, rest, or bear; to press or weigh; -- with on; as, a weight or burden sits lightly upon him. The calamity sits heavy on us. --Jer. Taylor. 5. To be adjusted; to fit; as, a coat sts well or ill. This new and gorgeous garment, majesty, Sits not so easy on me as you think. --Shak. 6. To suit one well or ill, as an act; to become; to befit; -- used impersonally. [Obs.] --Chaucer. 7. To cover and warm eggs for hatching, as a fowl; to brood; to incubate. As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not. --Jer. xvii. 11. 8. To have position, as at the point blown from; to hold a relative position; to have direction. Like a good miller that knows how to grind, which way soever the wind sits. --Selden. Sits the wind in that quarter? --Sir W. Scott. 9. To occupy a place or seat as a member of an official body; as, to sit in Congress. 10. To hold a session; to be in session for official business; -- said of legislative assemblies, courts, etc.; as, the court sits in January; the aldermen sit to-night. 11. To take a position for the purpose of having some artistic representation of one's self made, as a picture or a bust; as, to sit to a painter. To sit at, to rest under; to be subject to. [Obs.] "A farmer can not husband his ground so well if he sit at a great rent". --Bacon. To sit at meat or at table, to be at table for eating. To sit down. (a) To place one's self on a chair or other seat; as, to sit down when tired. (b) To begin a siege; as, the enemy sat down before the town. (c) To settle; to fix a permanent abode. --Spenser. (d) To rest; to cease as satisfied. "Here we can not sit down, but still proceed in our search." --Rogers. To sit for a fellowship, to offer one's self for examination with a view to obtaining a fellowship. [Eng. Univ.] To sit out. (a) To be without engagement or employment. [Obs.] --Bp. Sanderson. (b) To outstay. To sit under, to be under the instruction or ministrations of; as, to sit under a preacher; to sit under good preaching. To sit up, to rise from, or refrain from, a recumbent posture or from sleep; to sit with the body upright; as, to sit up late at night; also, to watch; as, to sit up with a sick person. "He that was dead sat up, and began to speak." --Luke vii. 15.
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