Definition of chattel
From the M-W Editors
Examples of chattel in a Sentence
at one time, the children of black slaves were also considered chattel
packed up all her chattels and moved to a new state
Recent Examples of chattel from the Web
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Gov. Mike Stack and his wife of security details and domestic staff amid allegations the Stacks treated them like chattel.
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Pulido was certainly enslaved, but not as chattel who could be bought and sold.
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Women are considered little more than baby-making chattel in many nations, the ones that most need lower populations.
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This fight does not begin with large swaths of America’s population in chattel slavery, or mired in the Depression as the Axis powers fortify their positions.
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Bradley was a slave, and at the time, the law considered slaves to be chattel—all of their physical and intellectual labor legally belonged to their owners.
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Still others say they have been bought and sold as chattel in a thriving, modern-day slave trade.
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The analogy between wage slavery and chattel slavery persisted in the United States into the 20th century in the rhetoric of reformers such as the socialist Eugene Debs.
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Give salmon a chance to outsmart the net in the open ocean, instead of living an aquacultural-chattel life.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chattel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
What is the Difference Between chattel and slave?
The word chattel is encountered in two main senses. The earlier of the two is primarily technical and refers to property, specifically property that is distinct from real estate holdings. The second meaning of chattel can excite considerable emotion, as it refers to humans as property, i.e., slaves. Chattel, slave and the less common bondman and thrall are all synonyms for a person held in servitude by another. Chattel and cattle both come to English from the same source: each is descended from the Medieval Latin word capitale, which itself traces to the Latin caput meaning “head.”
Origin and Etymology of chattel
Middle English chatel property, from Anglo-French — more at cattle
Other Legal Terms
CHATTEL Defined for English Language Learners
chattel
playDefinition of chattel for English Language Learners
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: something (such as a slave, piece of furniture, tool, etc.) that a person owns other than land or buildings
Law Dictionary
chattel
playLegal Definition of chattel
: an item of tangible or intangible personal property; especially : chattel personal in this entry Editor's note: In some jurisdictions the term chattel is restricted to items of tangible and movable personal property. Other jurisdictions also classify intangible assets and property items as chattels. chattel personal, plural chattels personal : an item of tangible movable personal property (as livestock or an automobile) that is not permanently connected with real estate chattel real, plural chattels real : an interest (as a leasehold or profit a prendre) in an item of immovable property (as land or a building) that is less than a freehold estate — compare fixture Editor's note: Interests that are considered chattels real have been treated by the common law as personal property despite being interests in real property.
Origin and Etymology of chattel
Old French chatel goods, property, from Medieval Latin capitale, from neuter of capitalis chief, principal — see capital
Learn More about chattel
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See words that rhyme with chattel Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for chattel Spanish Central: Translation of chattel Nglish: Translation of chattel for Spanish speakers
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