chattel
/ˈt͡ʃæt.l̩/ noun
Forms chattels
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English chatel, from Old French chatel, from Medieval Latin capitāle (English capital), from Latin capitālis (“of the head”), from caput (“head”) + -alis (“-al”). Compare the doublet cattle (“cows”), which is from an Anglo-Norman variant. Compare also capital and kith and kine (“all one’s possessions”), which also use “cow” to mean “property”.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Any item of movable or immovable property except the freehold, or the things which are parcel of it. It is a more extensive term than goods or effects.
Etymology [OF. chatel; another form of catel. See Cattle.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “chattel”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details