command

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /kəˈmɑːnd/, US /kəˈmænd/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English comanden,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French comander (“to order, enjoin, entrust”),^[4][3] from Vulgar Latin *commandāre,^[4][3][2] an alteration, influenced by mandāre (“to commit, entrust”), of commendāre (“to recommend, entrust to”).^[4][3][2] The New Oxford takes it from late Latin commandare, formed from com- (intensive) and mandare.^[5] The noun is from Old French comand or comande, from the verb.^[4][3] It is related to commend, mandate, commander and commandment.^[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To order or direct with authority: before 1300 in the OED^[6] and Barnhart,^[3] about 1300 in Etymonline.^[4] Old English had bebeodan in this sense.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In the late 14th century the verb came to mean “to have or exercise supreme power”, and “to have within one's influence”, of resources and the like;^[4] through a military sense it came to mean, of a high place, “to overlook, dominate” (1690s).^[4] The noun, “an order”, is from about 1400,^[4] “the right to command” from the mid-15th century,^[4] and “mastery” of a situation or a language from the 1640s.^[4] A command performance, given by royal command, is from 1863,^[4] the command post from 1918,^[4] and in computing a command is an instruction that defines an operation, from 1946.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – verb, to order.^[4][6]
• c. 1400 – noun, an order.^[4]
• mid-15th century – authority to command.^[4]
• 1640s – mastery.^[4]
• 1690s – to overlook from a height.^[4]
• 1863 – command performance.^[4]
• 1918 – command post.^[4]
• 1946 – in computing.^[6]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To give orders to; to direct with authority.
2. To have control or authority over.
3. To have at one's disposal: commands many resources.
4. To deserve and receive as due: command respect.
5. To overlook or dominate from a height.

Noun

1. An order; an authoritative direction.
2. In computing, a signal or instruction that sets off an operation.
3. The authority to command; control.
4. Ready skill or mastery: a good command of French.
5. The troops or area under a commander.

Adjective

1. Done at someone's command or request: a command performance.

Word family

• commandable
• commandeer
• commander
• commandery
• commanding
• commandment
• self-command
• chain of command

Related words

• commend
• mandate
• manipulation
• manual
• manufacture
• manuscript
• recommend
• commandant
• commando
• demand

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press