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To run over; to grow or spread over in excess; to invade and occupy; to take possession of; as, the vine overran its trellis; the farm is overrun with witch grass. Those barbarous nations that overran the world. Spenser.

To possess; to have, as the rightful owner; to own. [Obs.] Thou dost here usurp The name thou ow'st not. Shak.

ging to; belonging exclusively or especially to; peculiar; -- most frequently following a possessive pronoun, as my, our, thy, your, his, her, its, their, in order to emphasize or intensify the idea of property, peculiar interest, or exclusive ownership; as, my own father; my own composition; my own idea; at my own pri…

o owns; a rightful proprietor; one who has the legal or rightful title, whether he is the possessor or not. Shak.

The state of being an owner; the right to own; exclusive right of possession; legal or just claim or title; proprietorship.

Of or pertaining to a palace, or to a high officer of a palace; hence, possessing royal privileges. Count palatine, County palatine. See under Count, and County. -- Palatine hill, or The palatine, one of the seven hills of Rome, once occupied by the palace of the Cæsars. See Palace.

A royal charter confirming to a subject all his possessions. [Obs.] Holinshed.

tress (formerly in a good sense, now only in a bad one); one who takes the place, without possessing the rights, of a husband or wife; -- used of a man or a woman. The seducer appeared with dauntless front, accompanied by his paramour Macaulay.

corporate capacities; hence, the rector or incumbent of a parochial church, who has full possession of all the rights thereof, with the cure of souls.

th all that grew so near my heart. Waller. Powerful hands . . . will not part Easily from possession won with arms. Milton. It was strange to him that a father should feel no tenderness at parting with an only son. A. Trollope.

A division or sharing among partners; joint possession or interest. Rome, that ne'er knew three lordly heads before, First fell by fatal partnership of power. Rowe. He does possession keep, And is too wise to hazard partnership. Dryden.

To move or be transferred from one state or condition to another; to change possession, condition, or circumstances; to undergo transition; as, the business has passed into other hands. Others, dissatisfied with what they have, . . . pass from just to unjust. Sir W. Temple.

propriated or protected by letters patent; secured by official authority to the exclusive possession, control, and disposal of some person or party; patented; as, a patent right; patent medicines. Madder . . . in King Charles the First's time, was made a patent commodity. Mortimer.

Of or pertaining to a patriarch or to patriarchs; possessed by, or subject to, patriarchs; as, patriarchal authority or jurisdiction; a patriarchal see; a patriarchal church.

Possessing or enjoying peace; not disturbed by war, tumult, agitation, anxiety, or commotion; quiet; tranquil; as, a peaceful time; a peaceful country; a peaceful end.

One's own; belonging solely or especially to an individual; not possessed by others; of private, personal, or characteristic possession and use; not owned in common or in participation. And purify unto himself a peculiar people. Titus ii. 14. Hymns . . . that Christianity hath peculiar unto itself. Hooker.…

Exclusive possession or right. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

To make peculiar; to set appart or assign, as an exclusive possession. [R.] Dr. John Smith.

With a possessive pronoun:

A theory which explains inheritance by the transmission of the type of growth force possessed by one generation to another.