command
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /kəˈmɑːnd/
ipa: /kəˈmænd/
rhymes: (Received Pronunciation) -ɑːnd
rhymes: (General American) -ænd
Forms: form: commands
Etymology: From Middle English commanden, commaunden, comaunden, comanden, from Old French comander, from Late Latin commandāre, from Latin commendāre. Ultimately from Latin com- + mandō (whence ultimately also commend (a doublet), mandate, and recommend), from manus + -dō.
Compare typologically Russian поручи́ть (poručítʹ), поруче́ние (poručénije), руководи́ть (rukovodítʹ), руководи́тель (rukovodítelʹ) related to рука́ (ruká).
Senses: examples: text: I was given a command to cease shooting.
synonyms: behest
glosses: An order to do something.
examples: text: to have command of an army
text: GAGE, at that time, had command of troops near the lakes; and fearing an attack from the Indians, had called for some new recruits from Massachusetts; but the Assembly judged them not necessary.
ref: 1822, Alden Bradford, History of Massachusetts ..., Richardson and Lord, page 41:
text: It wasn't a decisive operation, and Carthage still had command of Spain.
ref: 2013, Barry Strauss, Masters of Command: Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, and the Genius of ..., Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 68:
glosses: The right or authority to order, control or dispose of; the right to be obeyed or to compel obedience.
examples: text: he had command of the situation
text: England has long held command of the sea
text: a good command of language
text: The Indians had command of the lands and the waters — command of all their beneficial use, whether kept for hunting, 'and grazing roving herds of stock,' or turned to agriculture and the arts of civilization.
ref: 1985, Peter Iverson, The Plains Indians of the Twentieth Century, University of Oklahoma Press, →ISBN, page 93:
glosses: power of control, direction or disposal; mastery.
examples: text: General Smith was placed in command.
glosses: A position of chief authority; a position involving the right or power to order or control.
examples: text: Command cannot be otherwise than savage, for it implies an appeal to force, should force be needful.
ref: 1851, Herbert Spencer, Social Statics, page 180:
glosses: The act of commanding; exercise or authority of influence.
examples: text: I asked myself what I was to do there, now my boat was lost. As a matter of fact, I had plenty to do in fishing my command out of the river.
ref: 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I:
text: Filing a complaint against a police officer in New Bedford without the benefit of witnesses is difficult, if not impossible. The police command, from sergeant to chief, is summarily defensive of the actions of police officers.
ref: 1977 August 20, David Brill, “Civil Custody Law Harasses New Bedford Gays”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 7, page 3:
topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: A body or troops, or any naval or military force, under the control of a particular officer; by extension, any object or body in someone's charge.
glosses: Dominating situation; range or control or oversight; extent of view or outlook.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: A directive to a computer program acting as an interpreter of some kind, in order to perform a specific task.
examples: text: He's got good command tonight.
topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: The degree of control a pitcher has over his pitches.
examples: text: Atkinson […] had hinted to me that the Duke of Richmond was so delighted with my acting that he should not be surprised if there was a second command.
ref: 1809, Dorothy Jordan, letter, cited in Claire Tomalin, Mrs Jordan's Profession, Penguin 2012, p. 220
glosses: A command performance.
Synonyms: word: behest
word: bidding
word: command
word: commandment
word: decree
word: demand
word: dictate
word: diktat
word: directive
word: direction
word: edict
word: fiat
word: hest
word: injunction
word: instruction
word: mandate
word: order
word: precept
word: ruling
Derived terms: at command
c-command
command and control
command and service module
command hierarchy
commandless
commandlet
command line interface
command-line interface
command-line interpreter
command paper
command pattern
command processing overhead time
command responsibility
commandwide
countercommand
cybercommand
divine command theory
in command
metacommand
miscommand
multicommand
on command
second-in-command
subcommand
take command
telecommand
voice command
Wernicke's command
Related terms: word: commend
word: mandate
word: manipulation
word: manual
word: manufacture
word: manuscript
word: recommend
word: imperative mood
word: law
word: obey
word: disobey
word: compulsory