Chattel......

Main Entry: chat·tel  Pronunciation: \ˈcha-təl\ Function: noun Etymology: Middle English chatel property, from Anglo-French — more at cattle Date: 14th century
 1 : an item of tangible movable or immovable property except real estate and things (as buildings) connected with real property
 2 : slave, bondman Msmarcy has no rights

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Chattel is a term in the financial world which refers to personal property which can be moved; it is also known as movable property. Some examples of chattel include anything from trash to jewelry, cars, and furniture. The opposite of chattel is immovable property, like real estate and buildings, although in some circumstances, of course buildings can be moved. Some people just call chattel “personal property,” differentiating it from things like real estate with the term “immovable property.”




The word is derived from the Middle English chatel, which means “movable property.” It is related to the Old French chatel, meaning “cattle,” a reference to one of the most famous examples of movable property of all time. Humans have had chattel for thousands of years; movable property was probably the introduction to the concept of property for early humans, as people learned to make and use things, thereby attaching value to them.

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During the slave movement, all slaves were considered chattel and documented as such. Even today, in countries that deal with human trading or slaves, (typically sex slaves) the term chattel is used on most documents and bill of sales. See South America Slave Trades. Human trafficking is the illegal trade in human beings for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor: a modern-day form of slavery. It is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest, after the drug-trade.[2][3]