possessive

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English possessif,^[2][3] borrowed from Middle French possessif and directly borrowed from Latin possessīvus (“indicating possession”),^[4][2][3][5] formed from the past participle stem of possideō (“to own, possess”), the source of possess, and the suffix -īvus.^[4][3][6] In French the adjective was used of the grammatical case from the late 14th century and in the general sense "owning" from the later 15th.^[4] The Latin word was a grammatical term in Quintilian,^[4] and Klein and the Shorter Oxford take it as a translation of Ancient Greek κτητικός (ktētikós, “acquisitive”), used of the possessive case.^[5][7] The OED compares possessivo (1321), posesivo and possessivo.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In grammar, denoting possession, of a case or of pronouns: about 1450, in Middle English grammatical texts, where the noun also appears for a possessive form.^[4][2] Etymonline dates both uses to the mid-15th century,^[3] and the 1989 edition of the OED had dated the adjective only to 1530.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The word began as a term of grammar and was only later used of possession in general, from 1575.^[4][9] The sense of a person who wants to own or keep what they have, or to control others, belongs to the same OED sense; the Historical Thesaurus files it among words for excessive desire from 1889.^[4][9] Johnson (1755) defined the adjective simply as "having possession".^[10] A rare sense "holding, being in possession" is recorded from 1838, in Bulwer-Lytton.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1450 – grammar: denoting possession; as a noun, a possessive form.^[4][2]
• 1575 – of or relating to possession.^[4][9]
• 1838 – holding or being in possession (rare).^[4]
• 1889 – of a person, wanting to own or keep things, or to control others.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Wanting to own or keep things for oneself, or to dominate or control another person; jealous: a possessive older brother.^[11][4]
2. Grammar: showing possession or a relation like it, as the genitive case, or words such as my and Ann's.^[11][6][4]
3. Of or relating to possession or ownership.^[11][4]

Noun

1. In grammar, the possessive case.^[11][6]
2. A word or form in the possessive case, such as a possessive pronoun.^[11][6][4]

Word family

• possessively
• possessiveness
• nonpossessive
• unpossessive
• double possessive

Related words

• possess
• possession
• possessor
• possessory
• genitive

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c d Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins