Possessed

  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Possessed

Definition: Possessed

Possessed

Adjective

1. Influenced or controlled by a powerful force such as a strong emotion; "by love possessed".

2. In a murderous frenzy as if possessed by a demon; "the soldier was completely amuck"; "berserk with grief"; "a berserk worker smashing windows".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "possessed" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

 

Specialty Definition: Possessed

DomainDefinition

Multilingual Slang

Italian (assatanata, assatanato). (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Definition: Demon possession

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Demon possession is the act of one or more demons of entering a human or animal body, alive or dead, or an object, with the intention of using it for a purpose, normally evil, but also as a punishment. This term is more commonly applied to living persons. It is said that a demonic possession can be "cured" by an exorcism that enables the exorcist to expel the demon/s from the possessed body or object.

Many religions contain some concept of demons and demon possession, but the details vary considerably. Many mainstream Christian churches, particularly in western society, either reject the concept entirely or strongly deemphasise it, instead supporting the mainstream scientific belief that supposed demon possessions are in fact a symptom of mental illness.

Demon possession in history

As back as we know by ancient inscriptions, Sumerians, Akkadians and Chaldeans, who shared some religious beliefs, described several procedures to protect people against demonic possession. There are also written cuneiform tablets about exorcisms to expel demons from humans once they had invaded their bodies. The priests who practised exorcisms in these nations were called Ashipy and Mashmashu. Nevertheless there are no descriptions of specific punishments against possessed persons as it happened later many times in Christian societies. Shamanic cultures also believe in demon possession and shamans (witch doctors) perform exorcisms too; in these cultures often diseases are attributed to the presence of an evil spirit or demon in the body of the patient. In the Bible, the Old Testament mentions the Devil, but no allusion to demonic possession is made. Contrarily to this, the New Testament mentions several opportunities in which Jesus drove out demons from diseased persons, believed to be these entities responsible for those illnesses. Since that moment on, demon possession became a plague among Christians; lots of exorcisms and executions were performed on persons allegedly possessed; lots of "lunatics" or mentally ill people were accused of being demon-possessed and killed. The Malleus Maleficarum speaks about some exorcisms that can be done in different cases. In Christianity, animals were also believed to be able of being possessed; during the European Middle Age hundreds of cats, goats and other animals were slain because of the idea that they were either an incarnation of a demon or possessed by one.

Demon possession in Christianity

The concept of demon possession was evolving in Christianity from the mere act of driving out demons "by faith" to heal people, to a complex quantity of "symptoms". In the 4th Century Hilarius (Hillary or St. Hillary) asserted that demons entered the bodies of humans to use them as if they were theirs, and also proposed that the same could happen with animals, expelling a demon from his camel to prove his theory. In the 5th Century Gregory (later Pope Gregory I, known as Gregorius Magnus or Gregory the Great) wrote about a nun that was possessed by a demon that penetrated her body via a lettuce she had eaten. Later, in the Middle Age, a list of symptoms required to confirm demonic possession was carefully prepared. Those symptoms are: #1- Ability to speak and/or understand one or more unknown languages; #2- Ability to find secret things, read the mind, and divine future happenings; #3- Ability to make physical efforts abnormal for that person; #4- The act of spitting or vomiting every object the demons would have obligated the person to swallow. Normally, only one of these symptoms was enough to determine possession. It was said by people of that time that possessed persons had an ugly and terrible aspect, wrathful eyes, bluish lips, foam coming off their mouth; their body was almost permanently shaking, when they spoke their tongue came abnormally out, their speech consisted mainly in curses and blasphemies, and they were able to imitate animal sounds as well as to speak with human-like voices with a strange sound and a different pitch of theirs. According to Catholic theologians demon possession is involuntary and allowed by God to test a person (for more details about God's tests on persons see Job). Involuntary possession, according to these theologians, cannot be negated because this would imply the negation of the cases mentioned in the New Testament (12, some of them repeated in more than one Gospel) and, by extension, the veracity of it. Voluntary possession can be also mentioned, favoured by drugs, alcohol and/or frantic dances, like those of certain ancient cults (i.e. the Bacchanals), still practised in some Shamanic societies, and alleged to be also practised by witches during their Sabbaths. Another form of voluntary possession is that in which a person offers his/her body to be possessed by a demon to serve as a medium among him/her and the other attendants to the reunion.

Cases of demon possession in the Bible

Here follows a list of all cases of demon possession and Jesus' ability to expel demons mentioned in the New Testament: Matthew 4:23-25: demon-possessed persons are healed by Jesus (also Luke 6:17-19); Matthew 8:16-17: Jesus heals many demon-possessed ones (also Mark 1:32-34 and Luke 4:40-41); Matthew 8:28-34: Jesus sends a herd of demons from two men into a herd of pigs (also Mark 5:1-20 and Luke 8:26-39, both referring to only one man); Matthew 9:32-34: Jesus makes a dumb speak (also Mark 3:20-22); Matthew 12:22-28: Jesus heals a possessed blind and dumb man (also Luke 6:17-19 and Luke 11:14); Matthew 12:43-45: Jesus tells an allegory of nasty spirits coming back home, that is the human body where have lived before (also Luke 11:24-26); Matthew 15:21-28: Jesus expels a demon from the body of the daughter of a Canaanite woman (also Mark 7:24-30); Matthew 17:14-21: Jesus heals a lunatic by driving out a demon from him (also Mark 9:13-29 and Luke 9:37-43); Mark 1:21-28: Jesus expels a nasty spirit from a man (also Luke 4:31-37); Mark 1:32-34: Jesus heals many demon-possessed people; Luke 7:21: Many people is cleansed from evil spirits by Jesus; Luke 13:10-17: Jesus expels Satan in the form of a spirit of disease from the body of a woman. The Gospel of John does not mention any case of demonic possession, and some healings in the name of Jesus are mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, but no allusion to demon possession is made. There are two references, one in Mark 6:13, mentioning that the twelve apostles expelled demons in the name of Jesus, and another in Luke 9:49 referring to a non-follower of Jesus that did the same in his name. Note that in the Gospels demonic possession is taken as responsible for physical and mental disease, like in more ancient cultures. (All biblical references were taken from the Biblia Vulgata; the text can slightly vary according to other translations, but the context is the same.)

Demon possession in medicine

In Medicine, and more properly in Psychiatry, demon possession is considered a form of insanity. It can be a "simple" hysteria, a mania, a psychosis or a case of split personality (schizophrenia), depending on the patient's symptoms. Specifically, there is a mental disease called demonomania or demonopathy; it is a monomania in which the patient believes that he or she is possessed by one or more demons. From another point of view, those who accuse others of being demon-possessed have to be mentioned too. In cases like those of the witches of Salem or the nuns who accused father Urbain Grandier, we are facing a collective hysteria, involving more than one person "contagiously" convinced of that "truth". In particular cases (sometimes a small number of persons, i.e. some members of a family or a small group of friends, but generally one person) the accusation of demon possession is caused because of the diseases above-mentioned or the phenomenon of collective hysteria. Another case that is necessary to mention is that of simulation; simulation is generally considered a psychological alteration of the human behaviour rather than a psychiatric disease, but there are in Medicine cases of simulators mentally ill that act by compulsion. It was common the case of children and teenagers accusing people of having bewitched them and feigning to be demon-possessed, and later apologising for that; unfortunately, due to the processes carried out by the religious tribunals, generally those innocents had already lost their lives, and that was the cause of many of those apologies: the feeling of being guilty, or remorse. There were several cases of simulation in England, most of them between 1533 and 1697, until accusations made by children were prohibited ca. 1718; there were cases of simulation in France and America too; it is thought that the collective hysteria that generated the accusation against Urbain Grandier was started by a case of simulation. It rests to say that a person easy to influence can be convinced by third parts of being demon-possessed. Hysteria is the first step to all other diseases previously mentioned, and it is more common in women than in men, thus the number of "demon-possessed" people and accusers was higher in women than in men; so it was the number of people killed by those accusations too.

Medicine can explain some aspects of the "symptoms" shown by those persons allegedly possessed; it is known that "supernatural strength" is common in some cases of insanity (maniacs, energumens, etc.).

Demon possession in fiction

The theme of demon possession has been by far better exploited by cinema than literature. Maybe the most known title on the subject is "The Exorcist" (both book and movie), which portrays a typical mediaeval case of demonic possession in which the victim shows all required characteristics to confirm the status of possessed. The film, from 1973, was later satirised in 1990 by "Repossessed". "End of Days", from 1999, shows another form of demonic possession, that one suggested by Hilarius.

See also

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Possessed

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Possessed is a 1947 film noir which tells the story of a woman who walks the streets of Los Angeles, calling for a man named "David." Taken to a mental hospital, the story of her obsession for the man named David is told in flashbacks. It stars Joan Crawford, Van Heflin, Raymond Massey and Geraldine Brooks.

The movie was written by Ranald MacDougall, Lawrence Menkin, Silvia Richards and Rita Weiman. It was directed by Curtis Bernhardt.

It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress (Joan Crawford).

Possessed is also the name of a 2000 Showtime original movie starring Timothy Dalton that is based on actual events which inspired the novel The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. In the Showtime movie, Dalton plays Father William Bowdern, a Catholic priest who conducted an exorcism involving an adolescent boy.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Possessed."

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Synonyms: Possessed

Synonyms: amok (adj), amuck (adj), berserk (adj), demoniac (adj), demoniacal (adj), obsessed (adj), possessed(p) (adj). (additional references)

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Synonyms within Context: Possessed

ContextSynonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).

Demon

Possessed, possessed by a devil, possessed by a demon.

Insanity

Adverb: like one possessed.

Adjective: insane, mad, lunatic,loony; crazy, crazed, aliene, non compos mentis; not right, cracked, touched; bereft of reason; all possessed, unhinged, unsettled in one's mind; insensate, reasonless, beside oneself, demented, daft; phrenzied, frenzied, frenetic; possessed, possessed with a devil; deranged, maddened, moonstruck; mad-brained, scatter brained, shatter brained, crackbrained; touched, tetched; off one's head.

Possession

Verb: possess, have, hold, occupy, enjoy; be possessed of; Adjective: have in hand; Adjective: own; command.

Possessed; Verb: on hand, by one; in hand, in store, in stock; in one's hands, in one's grasp, in one's possession; at one's command, at one's disposal; one's own; (property).

Adjective: possessing; Verb: worth; possessed of, seized of, master of, in possession of; usucapient; endowed with, blest with, instinct with, fraught with, laden with, charged with.

Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

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Crosswords: Possessed

Specialty definitions using "possessed": absorbance, absorption capacity, absorptive capacity, absorptive power, Aching Void, ALADDIN, atmospheric opacity, AxeBosom, BradamantCarriage, Castle, chatoyancy, CounselorDogs, Dyslexia, AcquiredEagles, eighty-column mind, elasticity of bulk, exercise, left as anGARDEN, Gene PoolHades, Hanameel, Harmonia's Necklace, Hobbididance, Honey, Houssainimplied power, INDIVIDUALITY, INTIMACY, ion implantation, Israfil'Jiglicensed materialmagnetostrictive delay line, Manon Lescaut, Misers, Modonational wealthObidicut, opaqueness of the atmospherePopulistQuininereferential integrity, RichesSt. LeonTablevelocity heaWall, Wealth, Wire, Wisdom. (references)
Etymologies containing "possessed": Possess. (references)

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Modern Usage: Possessed

DomainUsage

Screenplays

At that time, a friend shall lose his friend's hammer, and the young shall not know where lieth the things possessed by their fathers that their fathers put there only just the night before, about eight O'clock (Life of Brian; writing credit: Graham Chapman; John Cleese)

I'll never understand what possessed my mother to put her faith in God's hands, rather than her local geneticist (Gattaca; writing credit: Andrew Niccol)

What on earth possessed you to get an earring (The Simpsons; writing credit: Artur Brauner; Paul Hengge)

You told me a hundred times you want to be possessed. (Maude; writing credit: Colette Deréal)

My sister was just possessed with a supernaturally born killer and my husband is in 1994, and I do not mean in the fashion sense (Charmed; writing credit: Colman deKay)

Movie/TV Titles

The Possessed (1971)

By Love Possessed (1961)

Woman Possessed (1959)

Lady Possessed (1952)

Possessed (1947)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Possessed

DomainTitle

Books

  • Anatomy of A Life Possessed (reference)

  • Dark Visions: The Strange Power, the Possessed, the Passion (reference)

  • Possessed (reference)

  • Possessed Possessions : Haunted Antiques, Furniture and Collectibles (reference)

  • The Devils : The Possessed (reference)

    (more book examples)

  

Theater & Movies

  

Music

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Image Slideshow: Possessed

Illustrations:
Possessed

More pictures...

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Photo Album: Possessed

ThumbnailDescription & CreditThumbnailDescription & Credit

[A priest healing a possessed woman]. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

He possessed a capable substitute in the steamer's big bell. Credit: Library of Congress.

A kind of jealousy of her daughter for one strange moment possessed her -- jealousy of youth and love and opening life : or the evening seemed to halo and caress her. Credit: Library of Congress.

Son of agricultural day laborer in corner of room. The garments hanging on the wall were all the clothes this family of three possessed excepting a wornout coat for the girl. Webbers Falls, Oklahoma. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

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Familiar Quotations: Possessed

AuthorQuotation

Charles Caleb Colton

Many speak the truth when they say that they despise riches, but they mean the riches possessed by other men.

Edmund Burke

Liberty must be limited in order to be possessed.

George Meredith

Possession without obligation to the object possessed approaches felicity.

James A. Froude

A person possessed with an idea cannot be reasoned with.

Johann Kaspar Lavater

The jealous are possessed by a mad devil and a dull spirit at the same time.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

What is not fully understood is not possessed.

René Descartes

To be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough; the prime requisite is rightly to apply it.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The wise only possess ideas; the greater part of mankind are possessed by them.

William Cowper

No wild enthusiast could rest, till half the world like him was possessed.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Historic Usage: Possessed

AuthorDateQuotation

Magna Carta

1215

Moreover, for all those possessions, from which anyone has, without the lawful judgment of his peers, been disseised or removed, by our father, King Henry, or by our brother, King Richard, and which we retain in our hand (or which as possessed by others, to whom we are bound to warrant them) we shall have respite until the usual term of crusaders; excepting those things about which a plea has been raised, or an inquest made by our order, before our taking of the cross; but as soon as we return from the expedition, we will immediately grant full justice therein. (reference)

John Locke

1690

He that had as good left for his improvement, as was already taken up, needed not complain, ought not to meddle with what was already improved by another's labour: if he did, it is plain he desired the benefit of another's pains, which he had no right to, and not the ground which God had given him in common with others to labour on, and whereof there was as good left, as that already possessed, and more than he knew what to do with, or his industry could reach to. (Second Treatise of Government)

Treaty of Versailles

1919

The European Commission of the Danube reassumes the powers it possessed before the war. (reference)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Use in Literature: Possessed

TitleAuthorQuote

Scarlet Letter

Hawthorne, Nathaniel

It was as if an evil spirit possessed the child, and had just then peeped forth in mockery

Les Miserables

Hugo, Victor

The fervently devout were, in their dreams, the chosen ones, and were possessed of Christ

Grapes of Wrath

Steinbeck, John

And the clerks who drilled at night owned nothing, and the little storekeepers possessed only a drawerful of debts

Walden

Thoreau, Henry David

Nations are possessed with an insane ambition to perpetuate the memory of themselves by the amount of hammered stone they leave

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Non-Fiction Usage: Possessed

SubjectTopicQuote

Business

Items manufactured include a wide range of medium to good quality products such as household utensils, tea sets, dinnerware, kitchen equipment, decorative items, furniture, toys, plastic sheets, floor coverings, tiles, pipes and piping materials, foam rubber, cushions, pillows, polypropylene bags for cement and fertilizer, toys, shopping bags, baskets, bottles and containers, a variety of packaging materials for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, possessed foods and dairy products, and PVC and plastic-coated electric and telephone cables. (references)

Civil Liberties

Comoros

In October 1999, two citizens were arrested, tried, and convicted of "anti-Islamic activity" in part because they possessed Christian books and audiovisual material. (references)

Yemen

Although the refugee was registered with the UNHCR under a Christian name, he maintained an address in Sana'a under a Muslim name, was married to a Muslim woman, and possessed an Islamic marriage certificate. (references)

Saudi Arabia

Previously, foreign residents who traveled within the country could be asked by the authorities to show that they possessed letters of permission from their employer or sponsor. (references)

Economic History

Venezuela

Venezuela's tremendous natural resource wealth and geographic location possessed by Venezuela provide fundamental strengths upon which the country can build. (references)

Georgia

Georgia has no history of expropriatory actions, although some investment disputes possessed characteristics of an expropriation. (references)

Chad

At the end of 2000, the Chadian telephone network possessed only 10,260 lines for an average of 14 lines per 10,000 inhabitants, one of the lowest telephone density rates in the world. (references)

Human Rights

Cyprus

A British Sovereign Base Area (SBA) police investigation suggests that Tziakourmas was seized by Turkish Cypriots on SBA territory and that there was no evidence that he possessed marijuana. (references)

Albania

The police insisted that Gjonaj had committed suicide with a knife he possessed, which the police had not detected. (references)

Uganda

For example, on April 26, the UPDF arrested 19-year-old Geoffrey Okello based on the allegation that he possessed a firearm illegally. (references)

Indigenous People

El Salvador

Few possessed titles to land, and bank loans and other forms of credit were extremely limited. (references)

Minorities

Dominican Republic

Since many Haitian parents have never possessed documentation for their own birth, they are unable to demonstrate their own citizenship. (references)

Lexicography

Devil's Dictionary

HADES, n. The lower world; the residence of departed spirits; the place where the dead live. Among the ancients the idea of Hades was not synonymous with our Hell, many of the most respectable men of antiquity residing there in a very comfortable kind of way. Indeed, the Elysian Fields themselves were a part of Hades, though they have since been removed to Paris. When the Jacobean version of the New Testament was in process of evolution the pious and learned men engaged in the work insisted by a majority vote on translating the Greek word "Aides" as "Hell"; but a conscientious minority member secretly possessed himself of the record and struck out the objectional word wherever he could find it. At the next meeting, the Bishop of Salisbury, looking over the work, suddenly sprang to his feet and said with considerable excitement: "Gentlemen, somebody has been razing 'Hell' here!" Years afterward the good prelate's death was made sweet by the reflection that he had been the means (under Providence) of making an important, serviceable and immortal addition to the phraseology of the English tongue.

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

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Speeches: Possessed

SpeakerTermPhrase(s)

John Adams

1797-1801Coming from all parts of the Union at this critical and interesting period, the members must be fully possessed of the sentiments and wishes of our constituents.

Thomas Jefferson

1801-1809This, fellow citizens, is the state of the public interests at the present moment and according to the information now possessed.

James Monroe

1817-1825Much allowance is due to officers employed in each branch of this system, and the more so as there is good cause to believe that each acted under the conviction that he possessed the power which he undertook to exercise.

John Quincy Adams

1825-1829Less possessed of your confidence in advance than any of my predecessors, I am deeply conscious of the prospect that I shall stand more and oftener in need of your indulgence.

Andrew Jackson

1829-1837Partial injuries and occasional mortifications we may be subjected to, but a million of armed freemen, possessed of the means of war, can never be conquered by a foreign foe.

Ulysses S. Grant

1869-1877Yet he is not possessed of the civil rights which citizenship should carry with it.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Usage Frequency: Possessed

"Possessed" is generally used as a lexical verb (past tense) -- approximately 62.88% of the time. "Possessed" is used about 1,327 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words
Rank in English
Lexical Verb (past tense)62.88%8348,427
Lexical Verb (past participle)28.09%37314,596
Adjective (general or positive)8.51%11330,464
Noun (proper)0.53%7133,076
                    Total100.00%1,327N/A

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Derived & Related Names: Possessed

The following table summarizes names derived from the word "possessed".
 
NameGenderLanguageMeaning
CainN/ABiblical

Possessed

SamothraciaN/ABiblical

An island possessed by the Samians and Thracians

Tubal-cainN/ABiblical

Possessed of confusion

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

 

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Expressions: Possessed

Expressions using "possessed": ad like one possessed be possessed by be possessed by fear be possessed of be possessed with be possessed with an idea fear possessed him like a man possessed possessed by a demon possessed by a devil possessed by fear possessed noun self possessed what possessed him to do it?. Additional references.

Hypenated Usage

Ending with "possessed": All-possessed, daemon-possessed, dean-possessed, demon-possessed, pre-possessed, re-possessed, self-possessed.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Possessed

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day

the possessed

99

dostoevsky possessed

7

fall possessed prince rise

7

demon possessed

6

possessed by the night

5

doll possessed

5

church possessed seven

5

people possessed

3

by love possessed

3

possessed salem

3

house possessed this

3

metal possessed

3

by devil possessed

2

bed by demon moving possessed

2

possessed movie

2

band possessed

2

house possessed

2
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translation: Possessed

Language Translations for "possessed"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Albanian

  

i xhindosur (demoniacal, frantic, furious, mad, wrathful), i pushtuar nga djalli, i pajisur (equipped, fitted, provided). (various references)

   

Arabic 

  

‏ممسوس (insane, mad, maniac, touched), ‏معتوه (batty, cracked, crackpot, crazy, demented, dim witted, idiotic, imbecile, imbecilic, insane, loony, lunatic, mad, madman, mentally deranged, off his head, screwy, sodden, soft-headed, stupid, up the pole, witless), ‏ماخوذ, ‏مشغوف, ‏هادئ (calm, cloistered, composed, cool, dispassionate, easygoing, even, impassive, imperturbable, laid back, peaceable, peaceful, piping, placid, quiescent, quiet, reposeful, restful, self possessed, serene, sober, steady, still, tranquil, undisturbed, uneventful, unflappable, unmoved, unruffled, windless), ‏رابط الجأش (collected, composed, cool, cucumber, imperturbable, nonchalant, philosophical, phlegmatical, self possessed). (various references)

   

Bulgarian 

  

обладан от зъл дух, налудничав (mad, madcap, nutty, queer, whacked, wild), луд (bedlamite, bonkers, crazed, crazy, daft, demented, kinky, loco, lunatic, mad, madman, maniac, off one's nut, off one's rocker, out of one's mind, potty, scatty, screwy, wild), полудял (crazy, frenzied, gone mad, haywire, loco, mad), побеснял (infuriated, mad, rabid, rampageous, rampant, run mad). (various references)

   

Chinese 

  

拥有 (Own, Owned, Owning, Possess, Possessing). (various references)

   

Czech

  

vyrovnaný (balanced, close, composed, equable, even, even tempered, good tempered, secure, self possessed, serene, stable, well balanced), klidný (calm, collected, composed, cool, easy, halcyon, impassive, imperturbable, laid back, Pacific, peaceable, peaceful, placid, quiescent, quiet, reposeful, restful, secure, sedate, self possessed, serene, silent, smooth, sober, still, temperate, tranquil, uneventful, unmoved, unperturbed), duchapřítomný (self possessed). (various references)

   

Danish

  

plastic fremstillet af forbehandlet polystyren har bedre selvslukkende egenskaber end den fremstillet paa PVC-basis (treated polyethylene plastics possessed better self-extinguishing qualitities than plastics with a PVC base). (various references)

   

Dutch

  

plastiek, vervaardigd van polyethyleen, bezit een hogere zelfuitdovende eigenschap dan plastiek, gefrabriceerd op basis van p. v. c (treated polyethylene plastics possessed better self-extinguishing qualitities than plastics with a PVC base). (various references)

   

Finnish

  

jonkin riiva-ama (possessed by). (various references)

   

French

  

possédés, possédées, possédé, possédèrent, posséda, posé (posed), qui a le plein usage de ses qualités, calme (poise). (various references)

   

German

  

besaß (owned). (various references)

   

Greek 

  

κατεχόμενοσ. (various references)

   

Hebrew 

  

מטורף (crazy, loon, lunatic, mad, nutty), אחוז "בוק, אחוז רוח תזזית, כפוי (compelled, forced). (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

megszállott (cacodaemon, cacodemon, compulsive, infatuated, obsessed), genitívuszban használt, birtokos esetben használt. (various references)

   

Indonesian

  

kesetanan, kemasukan (entered accidentally), kalap (bewitched, enchanted, perplexed, puzzled, upset). (various references)

   

Italian

  

posseduto. (various references)

   

Japanese Kanji 

  

魅入る (to be entranced or possessed), 義理 い (possessed of a strong sense of duty), 狐憑き (one possessed by spirits, spirit possession), 狐付き (one possessed by spirits, spirit possession), 具わる (to be among, to be endowed with, to be furnished with, to be one of, to be possessed of, to possess), 備わる (to be among, to be endowed with, to be furnished with, to be one of, to be possessed of, to possess). (various references)

   

Japanese Katakana 

  

ぎりがたい (possessed of a strong sense of duty), そなわる (to be among, to be endowed with, to be furnished with, to be one of, to be possessed of, to possess), きつねつき (one possessed by spirits, spirit possession), みいる (to be entranced or possessed, to fix one's eyes upon, to gaze at). (various references)

   

Korean 

  

소 하" (Owned). (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

ossessedpay.(various references)

   

Portuguese

  

possesso (daemonic, demonic), endemoninhado (daemonic, demonic). (various references)

   

Romanian

  

posedat. (various references)

   

Russian 

  

одержимый (pixilated). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

pribran (calm, collected, self-collected), zaposednut, zadrt (obsessed, perverse, stubborn), sumanut (lunatic), obuzet (obsessive, smitten). (various references)

   

Spanish

  

poseso, poseído, obsesionado (haunted, obsessed). (various references)

   

Swedish

  

besatt (absurd, haunted, obsessed). (various references)

   

Turkish

  

perili (haunted), deli (Batty, bedlamite, bonkers, crackers, cracky, crazy, daft, delirious, dement, demented, demon, demoniac, demoniacal, dippy, distracted, distraught, gaga, insane, loco, loony, lunatic, mad, mad about, madman, madwoman, meshuggah, not all there, nutcase, nuts, nutty, off one's onion, out of one's mind, out of one's senses, phrenetic, potty, touched), cinli (demoniac, demoniacal, demonic, haunted), çılgın (berserk, bonkers, crackpot, crazed, crazy, delirious, demented, demon, demoniac, desperado, distracted, foolhardy, frenetic, frenzied, insane, kook, kooky, lunatic, mad, maniacal, moonstruck, nut, phrenetic, raving, rip roaring, ripsnorter, scatty, wild). (various references)

   

Ukrainian

  

одержимий (demoniacal, obsessed), божевільний (addle-brained, addle-pated, batchy, bedlam, brainsick, crack-brained, crackpot, crazed, crazy, cuckoo, daft, delirious, demented, deranged, frenetic, insane, loony, lunatic, mad, madman, moonstruck, non compos, nuts, nutty, rabid, scatty). (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Possessed

LanguagePeriodTranslations
Latin500 BCE-Modern

insani, insanis, insanum, insanus. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Bible Trace: Possessed

LanguageDateSourceProverbs Chapter 8, Verse 22
Greek (transliterated)250 BCSeptuagintKurioV ektisen me archn odwn autou eiV erga autou
Latin405VulgateDominus possedit me initium viarum suarum antequam quicquam faceret a principio
Middle English1395WyclifThe Lord weldide me in the begynnyng of his weies; er any thing shulde be maad, of the firste cause.
Jacobean English1611King JamesThe LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
Victorian English1833WebsterThe LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
Basic English1964OgdenThe Lord made me as the start of his way, the first of his works in the past.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Matched Bible Translations: Possessed

LanguageProverbs Chapter 8, Verse 22
Cebuano¶ Si Jehova nagbaton kanako sa sinugdan sa iyang dalan, Una pa sa iyang mga buhat kanhi.
CroatianJahve me stvori kao poèelo svoga djela, kao najraniji od svojih èina, u pradoba;
DanishMig skabte HERREN først blandt sine Værker, i Urtid, førend han skabte andet;
DutchDe HEERE bezat Mij in het beginsel Zijns wegs, voor Zijn werken, van toen aan.
FinnishHerra loi minut töittensä esikoiseksi, ensimmäiseksi teoistaan, ennen aikojen alkua.
FrenchL`Éternel m`a créée la première de ses oeuvres, Avant ses oeuvres les plus anciennes.
GermanDer HERR hat mich gehabt im Anfang seiner Wege; ehe er etwas schuf, war ich da.
Haitian Creole¶ Seyè a te fè m' lè li te fèk konmanse ak plan travay li. Li te fè m' lontan lontan anvan tout bagay.
HungarianAz Úr az õ útának kezdetéül szerzett engem; az õ munkái elõtt régen.
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hariAku diciptakan TUHAN sebagai yang pertama, akulah hasil karya-Nya yang semula pada zaman dahulu kala.
Indonesian-Terjemahan LamaBahwa Tuhan telah menaruh aku akan permulaan jalannya, dahulu dari pada segala perbuatannya yang mula-mula.
ItalianIl Signore mi ha creato all'inizio della sua attivit , prima di ogni sua opera, fin d'allora.
Maori¶ I a Ihowa ahau, no te timatanga ra ano o ona ara, no mua atu i ana mahi o nehera.
NorwegianHerren skapte mig som sitt første verk, før sine andre gjerninger, i fordums tid.
PortugueseO Senhor me criou como a primeira das suas obras, o princípio dos seus feitos mais antigos.   
RumanianDomnul m`a fqcut cea dintki dintre lucrqrile Lui, knaintea celor mai vechi lucrqri ale Lui.
RussianзПУ П"Ш ЙНЕМ НЕОС ОБЮБМПН ХФЙ уЧПЕЗП, ТЕЦ"Е УПЪ"БОЙК уЧПЙИ, ЙУЛПОЙ;

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Derivations & Misspellings: Possessed

Derivations

Words beginning with "possessed": possessedly, possessedness, possessednesses. (additional references)

Words ending with "possessed": dispossessed, prepossessed, repossessed. (additional references)


Misspellings

"Possessed" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: opsessed, opssessed, posessed, possedsed, possese, possesed, posseses, possesse, possessep, possesser, possesssed. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Possessed"

# of Phoneme MatchesPronunciationWord(s) rhyming with "possessed" (pronounced puze"st)
6p u z e" s tdispossessed, repossessed.
4-z e" s tzest.
3-e" s tarrest, abreast, acquiesced, addressed, assessed, attest, behest, bequest, best, blessed, blest, breast, Celeste, chest, coalesced, compressed, confessed, congest, crest, impressed, depressed, detest, digest, digressed, distressed, divest, dressed, expressed, fessed, finessed, gest, guessed, guest, infest, ingest, invest, jest, lest, messed, molest, nest, northwest, obsessed, oppressed, pest, pressed, Prest, professed, progressed, quest, rearrest, reassessed, recessed, reinvest, repressed, request, rest, retest, southwest, stressed, suggest, suppressed, test, transgressed, unaddressed, undressed, unimpressed, unrest, vest, West, wrest.

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

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Anagrams: Possessed

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Words within the letters "d-e-e-o-p-s-s-s-s"

-2 letters: deposes, possess, speedos.

-3 letters: depose, dosses, epodes, eposes, posses, sepses, speedo, speeds, spodes.

-4 letters: deeps, dopes, doses, epode, esses, pedes, pesos, posed, poses, posse, seeds, seeps, speed, spode.

-5 letters: deep, dees, does, dope, dose, doss, epos, eses, odes, oped, opes, oses, peds, peed, pees, peso, pods, pose, seed, seep, sees, sods, sops, sped.

 Words containing the letters "d-e-e-o-p-s-s-s-s"
 

+2 letters: possessedly, repossessed.

 

+3 letters: dispossessed, dispossesses, prepossessed.

 

+4 letters: dessertspoons, possessedness.

 

+5 letters: composednesses, lopsidednesses, stupendousness.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Crosswords
4. Usage: Modern
5. Usage: Commercial
6. Images: Slideshow
7. Images: Photo Album
8. Quotations: Familiar
9. Quotations: Historic
10. Quotations: Fiction
11. Quotations: Non-fiction
12. Quotations: Speeches
13. Usage Frequency
14. Names: Derived from
15. Expressions
16. Expressions: Internet
17. Translations: Modern
18. Translations: Ancient
19. Bible Trace
20. Derivations
21. Rhymes
22. Anagrams
23. Bibliography


  

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