n. pl. prop·er·ties 1. a. Something owned; a possession. b. A piece of real estate: has a swimming pool on the property. c. Something tangible or intangible to which its owner has legal title: properties such as copyrights and trademarks. d. Something tangible or intangible, such as a claim or a right, in which a person has a legally cognizable, compensable interest. e. Possessions considered as a group: moved with all his property. 2. A theatrical prop. 3. An attribute, characteristic, or quality: a compound with anti-inflammatory properties. See Synonyms at quality. [Middle English proprete, properte, from Anglo-Norman properte and Old French proprete, alterations (influenced by Anglo-Norman and Old French propre, one's own) of Old French propriete, from Latin proprietās, specific character (of a person or thing), ownership, property (formed on the model of Greek idiotēs, specific character, from idios, one's own), from Latin proprius, one's own; see per1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] proper·ty·less adj. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.