chattel [ME] A chattel, now often used in legal contexts as in goods and chattels, is ‘a personal possession’. The source of the word is Old French chatel, from medieval Latin capitale, from Latin capitalis ‘of the head’, from caput ‘head’ (see capital). From the same word comes cattle [ME]. At first it was an alternative form of chattel, but one which could also be used specifically for livestock. It started to be used specifically for cows and similar animals in the mid 16th century.