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chattel

 - 4 dictionary results

chat⋅tel

  [chat-l]
Use chattel in a Sentence
–noun
1. Law. a movable article of personal property.
2. any article of tangible property other than land, buildings, and other things annexed to land.
3. a slave.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME chatel < OF. See cattle

Synonyms:
1. See property.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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chat·tel   (chāt'l)   
n.  
  1. Law An article of movable personal property.
  2. A slave.

[Middle English chatel, movable property, from Old French, from Medieval Latin capitāle; see cattle.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

chattel 
c.1225, chatel "property, goods," from O.Fr. chatel (see cattle, which is the Norman-Picard form of the same word). Application to slaves (1649) is a rhetorical figure of abolitionists, etc.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: chat·tel
Pronunciation: 'chat-&l
Function: noun
Etymology: Old French chatel goods, property, from Medieval Latin capitale, from neuter of capitalis chief, principal —see CAPITAL
: an item of tangible or intangible personal property; especially : CHATTEL PERSONAL in this entry
NOTE: In some jurisdictions the term chattel is restricted to items of tangible and movable personal property. Other jurisdictions also classify intangible assets and property items as chattels.
chattel personal
; plural chattels personal
: an item of tangible movable personal property (as livestock or an automobile) that is not permanently connected with real estate
chattel real
; plural chattels real
: an interest (as a leasehold or profit a prendre) in an item of immovable property (as land or a building) that is less than a freehold estate —compare FIXTURE
NOTE: Interests that are considered chattels real have been treated by the common law as personal property despite being interests in real property.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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