proverb · Source-linked selection
Possession is nine points of the law, and they say there are but ten.
Possession is nine points of the law, and they say there are but ten.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying gives possession nine of ten imagined points in law. It exaggerates the advantage of already holding something through a near-complete numerical share.
What the words are saying
They say makes the total sound conversational rather than a statute. A careful interpretation can discuss practical leverage without deciding legal rights or endorsing keeping what belongs to someone else. The fraction is rhetorical and does not identify a jurisdiction, proceeding or rule. Actual entitlement cannot be resolved by the proverb’s count.
Everyday example
A reader distinguishes an apparent practical advantage from evidence of who is entitled to a disputed item.
When to use it
Use it to examine an exaggerated claim about possession and advantage.
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What it does not mean
The fraction is not a legal rule, probability or advice about a dispute.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 1271 · Possession
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English