n. [ L. assessio, fr. assid&unr_;re to sit by or near; ad + sed&unr_;re to sit. See Sit. ] A sitting beside or near. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. dépossession. ] 1. The act of putting out of possession; the state of being dispossessed. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) The putting out of possession, wrongfully or otherwise, of one who is in possession of a freehold, no matter in what title; -- called also ouster. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. insessio, fr. insidere, insessum, to sit in. See Insidious. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. The act of sitting, as in a tub or bath. “Used by way of fomentation, insession, or bath.” [ R. ] Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That in which one sits, as a bathing tub. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Insessions be bathing tubs half full. Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. obsessio: cf. F. obsession. ] 1. The act of besieging. [ archaic ] Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The state of being besieged; -- used specifically of a person beset by a spirit from without. [ archaic ] Tylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whether by obsession or possession, I will not determine. Burton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An excessive preoccupation of the thoughts or feelings; the persistent haunting or domination of the mind by a particular desire, idea, or image. [ PJC ]

4. Hence: Any driving motive; a compelling goal; -- not necessarily implying a negative judgment, as does sense 3; as, the coach was obsessed with winning the state championship [ PJC ]

5. Something that causes an obsession{ 3 }. [ PJC ]

6. The state of being obsessed. [ PJC ]

adj. Persistently and abnormally preoccupied with some unreasonable idea.
Syn. -- compulsive. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ F. possession, L. possessio. ] 1. The act or state of possessing, or holding as one's own. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) The having, holding, or detention of property in one's power or command; actual seizin or occupancy; ownership, whether rightful or wrongful. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Possession may be either actual or constructive; actual, when a party has the immediate occupancy; constructive, when he has only the right to such occupancy. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The thing possessed; that which any one occupies, owns, or controls; in the plural, property in the aggregate; wealth; dominion; as, foreign possessions. [ 1913 Webster ]

When the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Matt. xix. 22. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. Acts v. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. Ob. 17. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The state of being possessed or controlled, as by an evil spirit, or violent passions; madness; frenzy; as, demoniacal possession. [ 1913 Webster ]

How long hath this possession held the man? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

To give possession, to put in another's power or occupancy. --
To put in possession. (a) To invest with ownership or occupancy; to provide or furnish with; as, to put one in possession of facts or information. (b) (Law) To place one in charge of property recovered in ejectment or writ of entry. --
To take possession, to enter upon, or to bring within one's power or occupancy. --
Writ of possession (Law), a precept directing a sheriff to put a person in peaceable possession of property recovered in ejectment or writ of entry. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To invest with property. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to possession; arising from possession. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A possessor; a property holder. [ Obs. ] “Possessioners of riches.” E. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

Having been of old freemen and possessioners. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An invidious name for a member of any religious community endowed with property in lands, buildings, etc., as contrasted with mendicant friars. [ Obs. ] Wyclif. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Preoccupation; prior possession. Hammond. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Preoccupation of the mind by an opinion, or impression, already formed; preconceived opinion; previous impression; bias; -- generally, but not always, used in a favorable sense; as, the prepossessions of childhood. “The prejudices and prepossessions of the country.” Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Bent; bias; inclination; preoccupancy; prejudgment. See Bent. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act or the state of possessing again. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The possession of one's powers; calmness; self-command; presence of mind; composure. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. sessio, fr. sedere, sessum, to sit: cf. F. session. See Sit. ] 1. The act of sitting, or the state of being seated. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

So much his ascension into heaven and his session at the right hand of God do import. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

But Viven, gathering somewhat of his mood, . . .
Leaped from her session on his lap, and stood. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The actual sitting of a court, council, legislature, etc., or the actual assembly of the members of such a body, for the transaction of business. [ 1913 Webster ]

It's fit this royal session do proceed. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Hence, also, the time, period, or term during which a court, council, legislature, etc., meets daily for business; or, the space of time between the first meeting and the prorogation or adjournment; thus, a session of Parliaments is opened with a speech from the throne, and closed by prorogation. The session of a judicial court is called a term. [ 1913 Webster ]

It was resolved that the convocation should meet at the beginning of the next session of Parliament. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Sessions, in some of the States, is particularly used as a title for a court of justices, held for granting licenses to innkeepers, etc., and for laying out highways, and the like; it is also the title of several courts of criminal jurisdiction in England and the United States. [ 1913 Webster ]

Church session, the lowest court in the Presbyterian Church, composed of the pastor and a body of elders elected by the members of a particular church, and having the care of matters pertaining to the religious interests of that church, as the admission and dismission of members, discipline, etc. --
Court of Session, the supreme civil court of Scotland. --
Quarter sessions. (Eng.Law) See under Quarter. --
Sessions of the peace, sittings held by justices of the peace. [ Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to a session or sessions. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. OF. supersession. See Supersede. ] The act of superseding, or the state of being superseded; supersedure. [ 1913 Webster ]

The general law of diminishing return from land would have undergone, to that extent, a temporary supersession. J. S. Mill. [ 1913 Webster ]