besitzen

See also: Besitzen

German

Etymology

From Middle High German besitzen, from Old High German bisizzen, from Proto-Germanic *bisitjaną, Equivalent to be- + sitzen. Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål besitte, Danish besidde, Dutch bezitten, English besit, Swedish besitta, Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐍃𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (bisitan).

Pronunciation

  • (file)
  • IPA(key): /bəˈzɪtsən/, [bəˈzɪtsn̩]

Verb

besitzen (class 5 strong, third-person singular simple present besitzt, past tense besaß, past participle besessen, past subjunctive besäße, auxiliary haben)

  1. to own, to possess
    • 1599, Philipp Nicolai, Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern
      Du Sohn Davids aus Jakobs Stamm, mein König und mein Bräutigam, hast mir mein Herz besessen.
      You, the Son of David from the root of Jacob, my King and my bridegroom, have possessed my heart.
  2. to have
    • 1919, Walther Kabel, Irrende Seelen, Werner Dietsch Verlag, p. 93:
      Der Fremde war entschieden noch jung, mittelgroß und besaß einen kleinen blonden Schnurrbart […]
      The stranger was definitly still young, medium height and had a small blonde moustache […]

Conjugation

Derived terms

Further reading

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