Prop"er*ty (?), n.; pl.
Properties (#). [OE. proprete, OF.
propreté property, F. propreté neatness,
cleanliness, propriété property, fr. L.
proprietas. See Proper, a., and cf.
Propriety.]
1. That which is proper to anything; a
peculiar quality of a thing; that which is inherent in a subject, or
naturally essential to it; an attribute; as, sweetness is a
property of sugar.
Property is correctly a synonym for peculiar
quality; but it is frequently used as coextensive with quality in
general.
Sir W. Hamilton.
&fist; In physical science, the properties of matter are
distinguished to the three following classes: 1. Physical
properties, or those which result from the relations of bodies to
the physical agents, light, heat, electricity, gravitation, cohesion,
adhesion, etc., and which are exhibited without a change in the
composition or kind of matter acted on. They are color, luster,
opacity, transparency, hardness, sonorousness, density, crystalline
form, solubility, capability of osmotic diffusion, vaporization,
boiling, fusion, etc. 2. Chemical properties, or those which
are conditioned by affinity and composition; thus, combustion,
explosion, and certain solutions are reactions occasioned by chemical
properties. Chemical properties are identical when there is identity
of composition and structure, and change according as the composition
changes. 3. Organoleptic properties, or those forming a class
which can not be included in either of the other two divisions. They
manifest themselves in the contact of substances with the organs of
taste, touch, and smell, or otherwise affect the living organism, as
in the manner of medicines and poisons.
2. An acquired or artificial quality; that
which is given by art, or bestowed by man; as, the poem has the
properties which constitute excellence.
3. The exclusive right of possessing,
enjoying, and disposing of a thing; ownership; title.
Here I disclaim all my paternal care,
Propinquity and property of blood.
Shak.
Shall man assume a property in man?
Wordsworth.
4. That to which a person has a legal title,
whether in his possession or not; thing owned; an estate, whether in
lands, goods, or money; as, a man of large property, or small
property.
5. pl. All the adjuncts of a play
except the scenery and the dresses of the actors; stage
requisites.
I will draw a bill of properties.
Shak.
6. Propriety; correctness. [Obs.]
Camden.
Literary property. (Law) See under
Literary. -- Property man, one who
has charge of the "properties" of a theater.
Prop"er*ty (?), v. t.
1. To invest which properties, or
qualities. [Obs.] Shak.
2. To make a property of; to
appropriate. [Obs.]
They have here propertied me.
Shak.
