unpossessv.1
/(ˌ)ʌnpəˈzɛs/, U.S. /ˌənpəˈzɛs/ Now rare.
transitive. To dispossess (in various senses).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > loss > taking away > take away [verb (transitive)] > dispossess
disseisec1320
disincreasec1374
disheritc1400
disappoint1434
unpossessc1449
forbanishc1450
dispoint1483
disemparec1500
usurp1512
defeat?1545
depose1558
devest1563
dispossess1565
disappropriate1610
disadvest1611
expropriate1611
dispropriate1613
dispropertya1616
disinvest1619
divest1648
unrobe1650
defarm1693
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 380 Preestis..mowen iustli be vnpossessyd, (that is to seie, mowen iustli be putt out of possessioun of the same godis).
a1542 T. Wyatt Coll. Poems (1969) 60 The hold that is gyvin ouer I vnpossest.
1644 T. Edwards Antapologia 234 There..is much need to cast out these Devils, and to unpossesse the people possessed.
1857 Amer. Law Reg. 5 207 By unpossessing themselves of the property, these parties made themselves trustees for the creditors.
1987 J. Barth Tidewater Tales 198 She was possessed, Nausicaa was, and no amount of reminding her of Odysseus's age and marital status could unpossess her.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
† unpossessv.2
Obsolete.
transitive. To fail to possess.Apparently only in the progressive; cf. unpossessing adj.
ΚΠ
1753 Ess. Celibacy 26 Its inhabitants, unpossessing the delicate and interesting part of liberty,..are indigent.
1757 R. Griffith & E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances II. cccxi. 316 With a Taste and Relish for them all, yet unpossessing any of them.
1837 Hort. Reg. Nov. 407 Exotic plants of less beauty and unpossessing the hardy and requisite qualities with which nature has endowed those indigenous to this country.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
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