different between habitation vs possession

English

Etymology

From Middle English habitacioun, from Old French habitacion, abitacion (“act of dwelling”), from Latin habit?ti?nem, accusative of Latin habit?ti?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?hæb.??te?.??n/
• Rhymes: -e???n

Noun

habitation (countable and uncountable, plural habitations)

1. (uncountable) The act of inhabiting; state of inhabiting or dwelling, or of being inhabited; occupancy.
   • 1651, Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, Part 1, Chapter 24,^[1]

     And there have been Common-wealths that having no more Territory, than hath served them for habitation, have neverthelesse, not onely maintained, but also encreased their Power, partly by the labour of trading from one place to another, and partly by selling the Manifactures, whereof the Materials were brought in from other places.

   • 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 7,^[2]

     Witness this new-made world, another Heaven

     From Heaven-gate not far, founded in view

     On the clear hyaline, the glassy sea;

     Of amplitude almost immense, with stars

     Numerous, and every star perhaps a world

     Of destined habitation […]

   • 1817, Walter Scott, Rob Roy, Volume 2, Chapter 10,^[3]

     The few miserable hovels that showed some marks of human habitation, were now of still rarer occurrence; and at length, as we began to ascend an uninterrupted swell of moorland, they totally disappeared.

   • 1907, G. K. Chesterton, The Man Who Was Thursday, Chapter 12,^[4]

     Now, however, the windows in the houses began one by one to be lit up, giving a greater sense of habitation and humanity.

2. (countable) A place of abode; settled dwelling; residence; house.
   • c. 1596, William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act V, Scene 1,^[5]

     And as imagination bodies forth

     The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen

     Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing

     A local habitation and a name.

   • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Exodus 35:3,^[6]

     Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.

   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Book I, Chapter 6,^[7]

     Mrs Deborah, having disposed of the child according to the will of her master, now prepared to visit those habitations which were supposed to conceal its mother.

   • 1814, William Wordsworth, The Excursion, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown, Book 5, The Pastor, p. 219^[8]

     How gay the Habitations that adorn

     This fertile Valley! Not a House but seems

     To give assurance of content within;

   • 1948, Alan Paton, Cry, the Beloved Country, New York: Scribner, 1987, Chapter 10,

     And this is Shanty Town, my friend. ¶ Even here the children laugh in the narrow lanes that run between these tragic habitations.

3. A group, lodge, or company, as of the Primrose League.
4. (Louisiana French) A farm.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:abode

Translations

French

Pronunciation

• ^{(mute h)} IPA^(key): /a.bi.ta.sj??/
• Rhymes: -??
• Homophone: habitations

Noun

habitation f (plural habitations)

1. dwelling (a place or house in which a person lives)
2. inhabitation (act of inhabiting)
3. (Louisiana) farm, plantation, ranch

Further reading

• “habitation” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Etymology

From Latin possessi?, possessi?nis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p??z???n/
• Rhymes: -???n

Noun

possession (countable and uncountable, plural possessions)

1. Control or occupancy of something for which one does not necessarily have private property rights.
2. Something that is owned.

   The car quickly became his most prized possession.

   I would gladly give all of my worldly possessions just to be able to do that.

3. Ownership; taking, holding, keeping something as one's own.

   The car is in my possession.

   I'm in possession of the car.

4. A territory under the rule of another country.

   Réunion is the largest of France's overseas possessions.

5. The condition or affliction of being possessed by a demon or other supernatural entity.

   Back then, people with psychiatric disorders were sometimes thought to be victims of demonic possession.
6. The condition of being under the control of strong emotion or madness.
7. (sports) Control of the ball; the opportunity to be on the offensive.

   The scoreboard shows a little football symbol next to the name of the team that has possession.
8. (Australian rules football) A disposal of the ball during a game, i.e. a kick or a handball.
   • 2019 In the mix: Who's pushing for selection for round eight? Australian Football League, 7 May 2019. Accessed 7 May 2019.

     Defender Colin O'Riordan had 41 possessions in the NEAFL last week to continue his outstanding form, while Ryan Clarke had 47 in the Swans' big loss to Brisbane.

9. (linguistics) A syntactic relationship between two nouns or nominals that may be used to indicate ownership.

   Some languages distinguish between a construction like 'my car', which shows alienable possession — the car could become someone else's — and one like 'my foot', which has inalienable possession — my foot will always be mine.

Usage notes

• One who possesses is often said to have possession (of), hold possession (of), or be in possession (of).
• One who acquires is often said to take possession (of), gain possession (of), or come into possession (of).

Synonyms

• ight (obsolete)
• (taking, holding, keeping something as one's own): owndom, retention
• See also Thesaurus:property

Antonyms

• (taking, holding, keeping something as one's own): absence

Hyponyms

• mortmain

Translations

Verb

possession (third-person singular simple present possessions, present participle possessioning, simple past and past participle possessioned)

1. (obsolete) To invest with property.

French

Etymology

From Latin possessionem (nominative of possessio)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p?.s?.sj??/

Noun

possession f (plural possessions)

1. possession

Derived terms

• prendre possession

Further reading

• “possession” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).