PREPOSSESS

[Dr. Goodword]

• prepossess •

Pronunciation: pree-pê-zes • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Verb, transitive

Meaning: 1. To preoccupy obsessively, to the exclusion of other thoughts. 2. To prejudice beforehand, to create a bias in advance of something.

Notes: Today's is yet another word (like gull) that has been upstaged by one of its derivations: its adjective, unprepossessing "unimpressive, unremarkable". The meaning of this adjective has even drifted a bit off track, so let us pledge ourselves to salvaging the verb it is derived from.

In Play: Prepossess implies a stronger preoccupation than preoccupy itself, "Maureen was so prepossessed by plans for her wedding, she forgot the rehearsal." You can also now separate prejudice in advance from prejudice in general, "The defense lawyers attempted to prepossess the jury pool by releasing their version of the crime to the press before the jury was selected."

Word History: English created this word by adding the prefix pre- "before" to a word that it nabbed from Old French, possesser "to possess". Possesser is the natural descendant of Latin possidere, whose past participle is possess-. It was an old compound made up of pos- "(as) master" + sedere "to sit". Pos- is a prefixal variant of the ancient root poti "powerful, lord", which we also see in potent and potential today. In Persian is emerged as pasha. Sed-, of course, appears in many words, including English set, sit, and sedentary. (Today we must all be grateful for the potent vocabulary of Katy Brezger, who suggested this word in our verbal marketplace, the Alpha Agora.)

[Slava]

Coincidentally, Pasha is also the diminutive form for the Russian name Pavel. Yes, as in Chekhov from Star Trek.

Unofficial poll: would you rather be prepossessed, or possessed?

[Stargzer]

Prepossessed or possessed, either way I'd be looking for an exorcist, lest I become dispossessed.

[Slava]

Prepossessed or possessed, either way I'd be looking for an exorcist, lest I become dispossessed.

I thought dispossessed was another word for divorce.

[Stargzer]

Quick definitions (dispossessed)

▸ adjective: physically or spiritually homeless or deprived of security

Well, divorce would probably fit within the above definition, depending on which party gets the uranium from the mine and which party gets the shaft.

(You have to have seen Divorce, American Style with Dick van Dyke.)