Repossesses

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To regain control of an asset that was relinquished, often due to a contractual violation, represents a process of reclaiming ownership as a result of unmet financial agreements
2. Takes back possession of property when payments are not made as agreed
3. Reclaims ownership of an item after the buyer fails to keep up with required payments

Etymology: "Repossesses" is the third-person singular present form of "repossess," so the etymology belongs to the verb itself. The verb is built from "re-" and "possess." The "possess" part comes from Latin "possidere," meaning to hold or occupy, formed from "potis" (able, powerful) and "sedere" (to sit), so the root sense is roughly "to sit in power over something." That sense of settled holding is still visible in the modern meaning. The "re-" prefix comes from Latin, where it signals return or backward motion, and it passed into English through Old French. "Repossess" therefore reverses an earlier act of possession: the property that was once held by one party returns to the party with the claim to it. The verb developed in Middle English and is used most often now in the context of lenders reclaiming goods or property after a borrower stops keeping up with payments.

Synonyms: retrieves, regains, reclaims

Antonyms: forfeits, loses, abandon