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mandate

Etymology and origin of the English word mandate

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1501
Borrowed from
Middle French mandat
Ultimate origin
Latin (mandatum)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: noun: /ˈmæn.deɪt/; verb: UK /mænˈdeɪt/, US /ˈmæn.deɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French mandat and directly from Latin mandātum, a command, commission,[2][3][4] the noun use of the neuter past participle of mandāre, to order, commit to one's charge,[2][3][5] probably from manus, hand (see manual), and dare, to give, “to give into one's hand”.[2][3][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A judicial or legal command from a superior: 1501 in the OED, about 1500 in Etymonline;[7][3] a command, order, 1552 in Barnhart.[2]

Semantic evolution

A papal rescript is from 1611,[7] and a contract by which one person acts for another from the 17th century.[4] The political sense, the authority supposedly given by voters to the policies of an election winner, is from 1796.[3] A commission from the League of Nations to govern a territory, and the territory itself, is from 1919,[3] a sense influenced by French mandat.[6] The verb is from 1623, in Cockeram's Dictionary;[2] to delegate authority is from 1958,[3] and to make compulsory by law is a modern American use.[8][9] Mandatory is from 1576.[2]

Timeline

  • 1501 – a legal command.[7]
  • 1576 – mandatory.[2]
  • 1623 – to mandate (verb).[2]
  • 1796 – an electoral mandate.[3]
  • 1919 – a League of Nations mandate.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An official command or instruction.
  2. The authority given to a government or representative by an election victory.
  3. (history) A commission from the League of Nations to govern a territory, or the territory itself.

Verb

  1. To require by law; to make mandatory.
  2. To give authority to act.

Word family

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 d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Mandate.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/mandate. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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