Plural of chattel; movable pieces of personal property or possessions, as opposed to real estate or land.
From Old French 'chatel' meaning property or possessions, derived from Latin 'capitale' (capital). In medieval law, chattels meant anything you could move, unlike land which was fixed.
Medieval law divided the world into 'chattels' and 'real property'—but horrifyingly, this same word was used for enslaved people, revealing how language can treat humans as mere objects to be legally categorized.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.