ETYM Old Eng. proprete, Old Fren. propreté property, French propreté neatness, cleanliness, propriété property, from Latin proprietas. Related to Proper, Propriety.
1. A basic or essential attribute shared by all members of a class.
2. A construct whereby objects or individuals can be distinguished; SYN. attribute, dimension.
3. Any movable articles or objects used on the set of a play or movie; SYN. prop.
4. Any tangible possession that is owned by someone; SYN. belongings, holding, material possession.
The right to title and to control the use of a thing (such as land, a building, a work of art, or a computer program). In US law, a distinction is made between real property, which involves a degree of geographical fixity, and personal property, which does not.
Property is never absolute, since any society places limits on an individual's property (such as the right to transfer that property to another). Different societies have held widely varying interpretations of the nature of property and the extent of the rights of the owner to that property.