Possession definitions and example sentences on Wordnik

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American Heritage Dictionary (10)

noun The act or fact of possessing.
noun The state of being possessed.
noun Something owned or possessed.

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Century Dictionary (27)

The act of possessing, or the state of being possessed; the having, holding, or detaining of property in one's power or control; the state of owning or controlling; actual seizing or occupancy, either rightful or wrongful. One man may have the possession of a thing, and another may have the right of property in it. Ministering light prepared, they set and rise; Lest total darkness should by night regain Her old possession, and extinguish life In nature and all things. Milton, P. L., iv. 666. It is ill going to law for an estate with him who is in possession of it, and enjoys the present profits, to feed his cause. Dryden, Ded. of Third Misc. You see in their countenances they are at home, and in quiet possession of their present instant as it passes. Steele, Spectator, No. 49. If the possession be severed from the property, if A. has the jus proprietatis, and B. by some unlawful means has gained possession of the lands, this is an injury to A. Thus … B…. hath only … a bare or naked possession. Blackstone, Com., III. x. If … mere possession could confer sovereignty, they had that possession, and were entitled to that sovereignty. Story, Discourse, Sept. 18, 1828.
In law, the physical control which belongs of right to unqualified ownership; the having a thing in such manner as to exclude the control of other persons; that detention of or dominion over a thing by one person which precludes others from the adverse physical occupancy of or dominion over it. In modern law the legal conception of possession is intermediate between the conception of right and that of physical occupancy, and shares something of the qualities of both; but there is great difference of view as to the precise signification and the resulting proprieties of use. In general. all are agreed that a master has possession of a thing which belongs to him but is in the hand of his servant, however far away; but a lender has not possession of a chattel in the hand of the borrower. In respect to real estate, the landlord was formerly said to have possession, and the tenant was not said to possess or have possession, but only to be in possession. The distinction is now more commonly expressed by saying that the tenant has actual possession (pedis possessio), although the legal possession may be in the landlord. The servant's or tenant's possession is legal in the sense of being lawful, but is not the legal possession in the sense in which that term is used in contrast to mere physical occupancy without any right of ownership. Possession is sometimes said to involve the intent to exclude others, but a man may have possession without such intent, as where he has given a thing away, and it has not been removed; or even without the consciousness of possessing, as where a thing is forgotten or supposed to be lost. In Roman law, possession required not only physical control, but also the animus domini. When these two elements concurred, there existed a right which was protected against everybody, including the rightful owner. If he disturbed the possession, he could not in defense to the action (interdict) brought by the possessor plead title, but he had to resort to a separate action in order to assert his right. It was not necessary in order to make this protection that the possession should be in good faith, but good faith was necessary in order to make possession ripen into title by prescription. In some modern systems of law, for example the French code, possession acquired in good faith giyes an ownership of chattels.
The thing possessed; in the plural, goods, land, or rights owned; belongings: as, your friendship is one of my richest possessions; the French possessions. The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. Obadiah 17. When the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. Mat. xix. 22. Neither your letters nor silence needs excuse; your friendship is to me an abundant possession, though you remember me but twice in a year. Donne, Letters, xli.

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He wrote that the finding of fifty copies of The Revolution in his possession was an additional reason for his arrest, as the officials did not stop to read a word, the name was sufficient. — The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony, v1
I think we should pass a resolution establishing that marijuana use, possession (in small quantities), and paraphernalia possession should be the lowest law enforcement priority in the city. — 4&20 blackbirds
In my possession is a contemporary manuscript of this narrative, for which I am indebted to the kindness of General J. Meredith Reade 361] Penecaut, Journal_. — A Half Century of Conflict - Volume I France and England in North America
The writings of M. Demonville in my possession are as follows. — A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume I (of II)
People thus possessed generally do look gratified when the possession is alluded to But the inspired lobbyist did not pass his time in wearing an aspect of satisfaction. — Stories by American Authors (Volume 4)

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possession

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