This week we continue our vocabulary-building series, “The Closing Word.” Each week we provide a new word to help build your vocabulary and show you an example of how to use it.
This week’s closing word:
chattel
Pronounced: (CHAT-uhl)
Noun:
personal as opposed to real property; any tangible movable property (furniture or domestic animals or a car etc)
From Vocabulary.com: “Chattel refers to personal items, as opposed to actual land property. It was once used to describe slaves and cattle, which is why referring to something or someone as chattel isn’t very nice — you’re essentially saying they’re just property, somehow less than human. Despite the fact that chattel is an outdated word these days, it’s probably still safe to call your bottle cap collection worthless chattel.”
Example:
“The hoarder’s chattel filled every nook and cranny in the old Victorian mansion, and I knew we were going to have a serious family talk about decluttering.”
