commandment

See also: Commandment

English

Alternative forms

• commaundment, commandement (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English comaundement, from Old French comandement, from comander. See command.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kəˈmɑːndmənt/
• IPA^(key): /kəˈmændmənt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

commandment (countable and uncountable, plural commandments)

1. (religion) A divinely ordained command, especially one of the Ten Commandments.
   • 1869, T. Valpy French, The Old Commandment New and True in Christ […] ‎^[1], Seeley, Jackson, and Halliday, page 256:

     But besides having the bent of the affections towards Him, and desiring His favour, His near presence with us, there is that great rule of His, “This is love, that we walk after His commandments.”

   • 1998, Moshe Lieber, The Fifth Commandment: Honoring Parents : Laws, Insights, Stories and Ideas‎^[2], Mesorah Publications, →ISBN, page 30:

     Even those commandments which have a rational basis are kept by Jews only because that is God's will (Aruch HaShulchan). This lesson is encapsulated in the story of Dama ben Nesina.

2. (archaic) Something that must be obeyed; a command or edict.

   • Pau. Pray you then,

     Conduct me to the Queene.

     Gao. I may not (Madam)

     To the contrary I haue expreſſe commandment.

3. (obsolete) The act of commanding; exercise of authority.

   • Orl. Speake you ſo gently ? Pardon me I pray you,

     I thought that all things had bin ſauage heere,

     And therefore put I on the countenance

     Of ſterne command'ment.

4. (law) The offence of commanding or inducing another to violate the law.

Translations

a command or edict

• Arabic: وَصِيَّة f (waṣiyya)
• Belarusian: за́паведзь f (zápavjedzʹ)
• Bulgarian: за́повед (bg) f (zápoved), декре́т (bg) m (dekrét)
• Catalan: manament (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 戒律 (zh) (jièlǜ), 戒 (zh) (jiè), 誡命／诫命 (zh) (jièmìng), 诫命 (zh) (jièmìng)

• Czech: přikázání n
• Finnish: määräys (fi)
• French: commandement (fr) m
• German: Gebot (de) n
• Greek: εντολή (el) f (entolí)
• Hebrew: מצווה (he) f (mitsvá)
• Hindi: आज्ञा (hi) f (ājñā)
• Icelandic: boðorð n
• Indonesian: titah (id)
• Italian: comandamento (it) m
• Japanese: 戒律 (ja) (かいりつ, kairitsu), 戒 (ja) (かい, kai)
• Korean: 계명 (gyemyeong) (誡命 (ko))
• Middle English: comaundement
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Ngazidja Comorian: amrisho
• Ojibwe: aangwaamitaagoziwin
• Persian: فرمان (fa) (farmân)
• Plautdietsch: Jeboot n
• Polish: przykazanie (pl) n
• Portuguese: mandamento (pt) m
• Romanian: comandament (ro) n
• Russian: за́поведь (ru) f (zápovedʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: заповед f, заповијед f, заповест f (Serbian, also)

  Roman: zapoved f, zapovijed (sh) f, zapovest f (Serbian, also)

• Slovak: prikázanie n
• Slovene: zapoved f
• Spanish: mandamiento (es) m
• Swahili: kanuni (sw)
• Thai: บัญญัติ (th) (banyàt), ประกาศิต (th) (bpràgaasìt)
• Turkish: emir (tr), buyruk (tr), buyrultu (tr), ferman (tr), yarlık (tr)
• Ukrainian: за́повідь f (zápovidʹ)
• Vietnamese: điều răn