chattel

Meaning

Noun

• Tangible, movable property.
• A slave.

Origin

• From Middle English chatel, from Old French chatel, from Medieval Latin capitāle (English capital), from Latin capitālis ("of the head"), from caput + -alis. Compare the doublet cattle, which is from an Anglo-Norman variant. Compare also capital and kith and kine, which also use “cow” to mean “property”.