— propertyless , n.
/prop"euhr tee/ , n. , pl. properties .
1. that which a person owns; the possession or possessions of a particular owner: They lost all their property in the fire.
2. goods, land, etc., considered as possessions: The corporation is a means for the common ownership of property.
3. a piece of land or real estate: property on Main Street.
4. ownership; right of possession, enjoyment, or disposal of anything, esp. of something tangible: to have property in land.
5. something at the disposal of a person, a group of persons, or the community or public: The secret of the invention became common property.
6. an essential or distinctive attribute or quality of a thing: the chemical and physical properties of an element.
7. Logic.
a. any attribute or characteristic.
b. (in Aristotelian logic) an attribute not essential to a species but always connected with it and with it alone.
8. Also called prop . a usually movable item, other than costumes or scenery, used on the set of a theater production, motion picture, etc.; any object handled or used by an actor in a performance.
9. a written work, play, movie, etc., bought or optioned for commercial production or distribution.
10. a person, esp. one under contract in entertainment or sports, regarded as having commercial value: an actor who was a hot property at the time.
[ 1275-1325; ME proprete possession, attribute, what is one's own, equiv. to propre PROPER + -te -TY 2 . See PROPRIETY ]
Syn. 1. belongings. PROPERTY, CHATTELS, EFFECTS, ESTATE, GOODS refer to what is owned. PROPERTY is the general word: She owns a great deal of property. He said that the umbrella was his property. CHATTELS is a term for pieces of personal property or movable possessions; it may be applied to livestock, automobiles, etc.: a mortgage on chattels. EFFECTS is a term for any form of personal property, including even things of the least value: All his effects were insured against fire.
ESTATE refers to property of any kind that has been, or is capable of being, handed down to descendants or otherwise disposed of in a will: He left most of his estate to his niece. It may consist of personal estate (money, valuables, securities, chattels, etc.), or real estate (land and buildings). GOODS refers to household possessions or other movable property, esp. that comprising the stock in trade of a business: The store arranged its goods on shelves. 3. acreage. 6. feature. See quality .