Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Law An article of movable personal property.
- noun A slave.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Property; wealth; goods; stock. See
cattle - noun An article of personal property; a movable: usually in the plural, goods; movable assets.
- noun Synonyms Effects, Goods, etc. See property.
- To regard as a chattel; reduce to the condition of a chattel.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Law) Any item of movable or immovable property except the freehold, or the things which are parcel of it. It is a more extensive term than
goods oreffects . - noun (Law) a mortgage on personal property, as distinguished from one on real property.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Commonly used to describe the treatment of Russian
serfs asproperty . - noun
Tangible , movableproperty . - noun A
slave .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun personal as opposed to real property; any tangible movable property (furniture or domestic animals or a car etc)
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word chattel.
Examples
-
To mark the occasion, Manischewitz presents -- without any hint of irony -- the story of the Passover Seder that a Southern Jew celebrated while fighting to defend his state's power to maintain chattel slavery.
-
To mark the occasion, Manischewitz presents -- without any hint of irony -- the story of the Passover Seder that a Southern Jew celebrated while fighting to defend his state's power to maintain chattel slavery.
-
To mark the occasion, Manischewitz presents -- without any hint of irony -- the story of the Passover Seder that a Southern Jew celebrated while fighting to defend his state's power to maintain chattel slavery.
-
But when only one partner wears a ring which the world traditionally reads as "taken" or "owned", then sorry, but yes, the word chattel does spring to mind.
-
Tell me if the principle which permits one man to regard another as a chattel is not destructive in
-
But the word chattel does not in the least interfere with their humanity.
-
And, in phrase professional, call'd thee 'chattel' --
The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, January 1844 Volume 23, Number 1 Various
-
I was generally introduced as a "chattel" -- a "thing" -- a piece of southern property -- the chairman assuring the audience that it could speak Fugitive slaves were rare then, and as a fugitive slave lecturer, I had the advantage of being a "bran new fact" -- the first one out.
-
I was generally introduced as a "chattel" -- a "thing" -- a piece of southern "property" -- the chairman assuring the audience that it could speak.
My Bondage and My Freedom. By Frederick Douglass. With and Introduction. By James M`Cune Smith. 1855
-
I was generally introduced as a "chattel" -- a "thing" -- a piece of southern "property" -- the chairman assuring the audience that it could speak.
My Bondage and My Freedom. Part I.--Life as a Slave. Part II.--Life as a Freeman 1850
abiohphobia commented on the word chattel
Pronunciation:
\ˈcha-təl\
Etymology:
Middle English chatel- property, from Anglo-French, common root with cattle
1 : an item of tangible movable or immovable property except real estate and things (as buildings) connected with real property
2 : slave, bondsman
October 27, 2007