English
possess
Possess comes from Middle French possesser ‘to possess’, from Proto-Indo-European *pótis ‘master’, and ultimately from *sed- ‘to sit’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*pótis‘master’next step skipped: Latin possideō
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpossessus‘possessed’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600possesser‘to possess’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500possessen‘to have, own’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1591possess
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*pótis‘master’next step skipped: Latin possideō
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpossessus‘possessed’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600possesser‘to possess’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500possessen‘to have, own’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1591possess
Earliest quotation: c. 1590–1591, William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona: “My eares are ſtopt, & cannot hear good newes,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’
president, set, size, sit, sitting, method, chair, sell, seat, resident, settle, session, siege, niche, nest, saddle, exodus, subsidy, reside, nye, residual, residue, sedan, assess, insidious, sediment, prasad, cathode, soot, sedentary, dissident, anode, sedative, setter, sate, beset, sedate, chaise, presidio, ersatz, 96 more
through Proto-Indo-European *pótis ‘master’
potential, impossible, possibility, potent, potency, impotence, 4 more
Today it means
verb To have (something) as, or as if as, an owner; to have, to own.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sed- / possess