the.com/possession
the thing you own until it quietly starts owning you
means Something you have, hold, or legally own — whether an object, property, or a state of being controlled by something (like a feeling or a spirit).
from From Latin possessio, from possidere 'to occupy, hold,' built from potis 'able, powerful' (the same root behind 'potent' and 'possible') plus sedere 'to sit.' So at heart, to possess is to 'sit as master' over a thing — which makes the essence above quietly true, since sitting on something long enough is how it starts sitting on you. The word reached English through Old French in the medieval period.
- law
- nine-tenths of it, allegedly, beats ownership
- grammar
- the apostrophe that turns nouns into landlords
- basketball
- whoever holds the ball controls the clock
- folklore
- exorcism rites exist in nearly every world religion
- psychology
- endowment effect makes you overvalue whatever you grab
hope diamond — 45.52-carat blue diamond at the smithsonian, purchased by harry winston in 1958
the stanley cup — nhl trophy that winning team physically possesses for one year before returning it