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Exercising authority; actually in command; as, a commanding officer.

n. Need we . . . epistles of commendatiom 2 Cor. iii. 1. By the commendation of the great officers. Bacon.

The body of officers charged with such service.

An officer on the bishop, who exercises ecclesiastical jurisdiction in parts of the diocese at a distance from the residence of the bishop. Ayliffe.

f others, receiving a rate per cent as his compensation. -- Commission, or Commissioned, officer (Mil.), one who has a commission, in distingtion from a noncommossioned or warrant officer. -- Commission of the peace, a commission under the great seal, constituting one or more persons justices of the peace. [Eng.] --…

An officer having charge of some department or bureau of the public service. Herbert was first commissioner of the Admiralty. Macaulay. The commissioner of patents, the commissioner of the land office, the commissioner of Indian affairs, are subotdinates of the secretary of the interior. Bartlett. Commissioner of deeds…

An officer who ranks next above a captain; sometimes, by courtesy, the senior captain of a squadron. The rank of commodore corresponds with that of brigadier general in the army.

the entrance or staircase of the cabin. -- Companion ladder (Naut.), the ladder by which officers ascend to, or descend from, the quarter-deck. Totten. -- Companion way (Naut.), a staircase leading to the cabin. -- Knights companions, in certain honorary orders, the members of the lowest grades as distinguished from…

The crew of a ship, including the officers; as, a whole ship's company.

formal allegation or charge against a party made or presented to the appropriate court or officer, as for a wrong done or a crime committed (in the latter case, generally under oath); an information; accusation; the initial bill in proceedings in equity.

A report of an officer or agent.

A controller; a public officer whose duty it is to examine certify accounts.

An officer who has charge of preserving the public peace, as a justice or sheriff.

A high officer in the monarhical establishments of the Middle Ages.

wer. Me didst Thou constitute a priest of thine. Wordsworth. Constituted authorities, the officers of government, collectively, as of a nation, city, town, etc. Bartlett.

aving jurisdiction in several places or over several consula. -- Vice consul, a consular officer holding the place of a consul during the consul's absence or after he has been relieved.

consul; performing the duties of a consul; as, consular power; consular dignity; consular officers.

An officer appointed to keep a counter register of accounts, or to examine, rectify, or verify accounts. [More commonly written controller.]

Alone by a senior officer present during evolutions or drills, when it commands "Silence."

nder seal of a court. -- Certified or Office copies, those which are made or attested by officers having charge of the originals, and authorized to give copies officially. Abbot.