Belongings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Possessions or items that a person holds as part of their personal property
2. Items or property owned or carried by an individual, often including clothing, valuables, or personal effects
3. Objects that a person owns or has with them, typically referring to everyday possessions or valuables

Etymology: "Belongings" is the plural of "belonging," which is built from "belong" plus the suffix "-ing." The verb "belong" traces back to Old English "be-" (a prefix meaning "about" or "around") joined to "langian," meaning "to reach" or "to extend to," so the core idea is something that stretches toward or reaches to a person or place. The noun "belonging" appeared in Middle English as "belonginge" and related forms, and it originally referred to the act or fact of belonging. Its plural, "belongings," later came to mean the things a person owns or carries, so a word that began as a description of a connection between people and things eventually became a name for the things themselves.

Synonyms: possessions, assets, effects, goods, property

Antonyms: losses, debt, liabilities, abandonments, dispossessions