Pos-sĕss', v. t.
(pos sĕs', or poz-zĕs') (Synop., § 130), v. t. [imp. & p. p. POSSESSED (108); p. pr. & vb. n. POSSESSING.] [Lat. possidere, possessum, from po, an inseparable prep., denoting power or possession, or rendering emphatic the meaning of a verb, and sedere, to sit; It. possedere, Pr. possessir, Sp. poseer, Pg. possuir, Fr. posséder.]
Sense 1. Lit., to sit upon; hence, to occupy in person; to hold in one's own keeping; to have and to hold.
Sense 2. To have the legal title to; to have a just right to; to have a fair claim upon; to own.
Sense 3. To assume the control of; to take charge of; to be the master of; to have in one's keeping. “Returning to regain love once possessed.” Milton.
Sense 4. To obtain possession of; to accomplish. “How . . . to possess the purpose they desire.” Spenser.
Sense 5. To enter into and influence; to control the will of;—said of evil spirits, passions, &c. “Those which were possessed with devils.” Matt. iv. 24.
Beware what spirit rages in your breast; For ten inspired, ten thousand are possessed. Roscommon.
Sense 6. To put in possession; to make the owner or holder; to put in possession of knowledge; to acquaint; to inform;—followed by of or with before the thing possessed.
I have possessed your grace of what I purpose. Shak.
Record a gift . . . of all he dies possessed Unto his son. Shak.
Of fortune’s favor long possessed. Dryden.
We possessed ourselves of the kingdom of Naples. Addison.
It is of unspeakable advantage to possess our minds with an habitual good intention. Addison.
Syn.—To have; hold; occupy; control; own.—Possess. Have is the more general word. To possess denotes to have “as a possession.” A man does not possess his wife and children: they are (so to speak) part of himself. For the same reason, we have (not possess) the faculties of reason, understanding, will, &c., an elegant taste, a sound judgment, &c.: they are exercises of the mind, not possessions. We can, however, in certain connections, speak of a man as possessing an elegant taste or a sound judgment; but in such cases our attention is commonly turned to some use he is to make of them, and hence they are naturally regarded as distinct from himself, and as part of his “possessions.” Some overlook the fact that have is the leading term, and use possess when there is nothing specific in the case to require its use.