Nearby Words

dispossession

[dis-puh-zes] Origin

dis·pos·sess

[dis-puh-zes]
verb (used with object)
1.
to put (a person) out of possession, especially of real property; oust.
2.
to banish.
3.
to abandon ownership of (a building), especially as a bad investment: Landlords have dispossessed many old tenement buildings.

Origin:
1425–75; dis-1 + possess; replacing Middle English disposseden, equivalent to dis-1 + posseden (< Old French posseder) < Latin possidēre; see possess

dis·pos·ses·sion, noun
dis·pos·ses·sor, noun
dis·pos·ses·so·ry [dis-puh-zes-uh-ree] , adjective


1. See strip1.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Dispossession is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
Collins
World English Dictionary
dispossess (ˌdɪspəˈzɛs)
 
vb
(tr) to take away possession of something, esp property; expel
 
dispos'session
 
n
 
dispos'sessor
 
n
 
dispos'sessory
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

dispossess
late 15c., from O.Fr. despossesser "to dispossess," from des- "dis-" (see dis-) + possesser "possess" (see possess). Related: Dispossessed; dispossession.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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