Search the Dictionary

nction; a commission; a judicial precept. This dream all-powerful Juno; I bear Her mighty mandates, and her words you hear. Dryden.

r apprehending of a person by authority of law; legal restraint; custody. Also, a decree, mandate, or warrant. William . . . ordered him to be put under arrest. Macaulay. [Our brother Norway] sends out arrests On Fortinbras; which he, in brief, obeys. Shak.

That which is willed or ordered; a command; a mandate; an injunction. To do his master's high behest. Sir W. Scott.

An order; a mandate or command; an injunction. The king gave cherge concerning Absalom. 2. Sam. xviii. 5.

An authoritative order requiring obedience; a mandate; an injunction. A waiting what command their mighty chief Had to impose. Milton.

An order or injunction given by authority; a command; a charge; a precept; a mandate. A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another. John xiii. 34.

Constituting an object of expectation; contingent. Expectative grace, a mandate given by the pope or a prince appointing a successor to any benefice before it becomes vacant. Foxe.

In Turkey and some other Oriental countries, a decree or mandate issued by the sovereign; a royal order or grant; -- generally given for special objects, as to a traveler to insure him protection and assistance. [Written also firmaun.]

That which is enjoined; an order; a mandate; a decree; a command; a precept; a direction. For still they knew,and ought to have still remembered, The high injunction,not to taste that fruit. Milton. Necessary as the injunctions of lawful authority. South.

the installation of an ordained minister in a parish. On the election, the bishop gives a mandate for his installation. Ayliffe.

nd justice; also, the determination, decision, or sentence of a court, or of a judge; the mandate or sentence of God as the judge of all. In judgments between rich and poor, consider not what the poor man needs, but what is his own. Jer. Taylor. Most heartily I do beseech the court To give the judgment. Shak.…

is given; hence, specifically, a person to whom the pope has, by his prerogative, given a mandate or order for his benefice. Ayliffe.

A director; one who gives a mandate or order. Ayliffe.

A command; a mandate; a precept; a direction. Upon this new fright, an order was made by both houses for disarming all the papists in England. Clarendon.

Justificatory mandate or precept; authority; warrant. [R.] Shak. If they disobey precept, that is no excuse to us, nor gives us any warranty . . . to disobey likewise. Kettlewe