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To take possession of, in advance of some one or something else, to the exclusion or detriment of the latter; to get ahead of; to preoccupy; also, to exclude, hinder, or prevent, by prior occupation, or by measures taken in advance.

To taste before full possession; to have previous enjoyment or experience of; to anticipate.

crime; to render one's self by misdeed liable to be deprived of; to alienate the right to possess, by some neglect or crime; as, to forfeit an estate by treason; to forfeit reputation by a breach of promise; -- with to before the one acquiring what is forfeited. [They] had forfeited their property by their crimes. Burk…

s in external religious forms, or observes strictly the outward forms of worship, without possessing the life and spirit of religion. As far a formalist from wisdom sits, In judging eyes, as libertines from wits. Young.

Wealth; large possessions; large estate; riches; as, a gentleman of fortune.

unrestricted; not obstructed, engrossed, or appropriated; open; -- said of a thing to be possessed or enjoyed; as, a free school. Why, sir, I pray, are not the streets as free For me as for you Shak.

eedom fine, a sum paid on entry to incorporations of trades. -- Freedom of the city, the possession of the rights and privileges of a freeman of the city; formerly often, and now occasionally, conferred on one not a resident, as a mark of honorary distinction for public services.

The possessor of a freehold.

A member of a corporation, company, or city, possessing certain privileges; a member of a borough, town, or State, who has the right to vote at elections. See Liveryman. Burrill. Both having been made freemen on the same day. Addison.

Possessed of original life and vigor; new and strong; unimpaired; sound.

Use or possession of anything, especially such as is accompanied with pleasure or satisfaction; pleasure derived from possession or use. "Capacity of fruition." Rogers. "Godlike fruition." Milton. Where I may have fruition of her love. Shak.

Eujoying; possessing. [Obs.] Boyle.

Flying, or disposed to fly; fleeing away; lasting but a short time; volatile. Much of its possessions is so hid, so fugacious, and of so uncertain purchase. Jer. Taylor.

The obtaining or amassing of profit or valuable possessions; acquisition; accumulation. "The lust of gain." Tennyson.

Prepossessing; well-favored. [Obs.] Massinger.

e office of a general; the exercise of the functions of a general; -- sometimes, with the possessive pronoun, the personality of a general. Your generalship puts me in mind of Prince Eugene. Goldsmith.

Possessing genitive from; pertaining to, or derived from, the genitive case; as, a genitival adverb. -- Gen`i*ti"val*ly, adv.

ning to that case (as the second case of Latin and Greek nouns) which expresses source or possession. It corresponds to the possessive case in English.

Possessing or exhibiting the qualities popularly regarded as belonging to high birth and breeding; free from vulgarity, or lowness of taste or behavior; adapted to a refined or cultivated taste; polite; well-bred; as, genteel company, manners, address.

To procure; to obtain; to gain possession of; to acquire; to earn; to obtain as a price or reward; to come by; to win, by almost any means; as, to get favor by kindness; to get wealth by industry and economy; to get favor by kindness; to get wealth by industry and economy; to get land by purchase, etc.…