POSSIDERE

possidere (pos-[schwa]-dee-ree). [Latin fr. potis “having power” + sedere “to sit”] Hist. To possess (a thing), esp. as a person with an interest protected by law (e.g., an owner or mortgagee) rather than a mere custodian. “A distinction was made in the civil law, and adopted by Bracton, between possidere, (to possess,) and esse in […]