ordain

English

Etymology

From Middle English, borrowed from Old French ordiner, from Latin ordinare (“to order”), from ordo (“order”). Doublet of ordinate.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔɹˈdeɪn/
• IPA^(key): /ɔːˈdeɪn/
• Rhymes: -eɪn
• Hyphenation: or‧dain

Verb

ordain (third-person singular simple present ordains, present participle ordaining, simple past and past participle ordained)

1. To prearrange unalterably.
   • 1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], epistle I, London: Printed for J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC, page 15, lines 248–251:

     What if the Foot, ordain'd the duſt to tread, / Or Hand, to toil, aſpir'd to be the Head? / What if the Head, the Eye, or Ear repin'd / To ſerve mere Engines to the ruling Mind?

2. To decree.
3. To admit into the ministry of a religion, for example as a priest, bishop, minister or Buddhist monk, or to authorize as a rabbi.
4. To predestine.

Conjugation

Conjugation of ordain

infinitive	(to) ordain
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	ordain	ordained
2nd-person singular
3rd-person singular	ordains
plural	ordain
subjunctive	ordain	ordained
imperative	ordain	—
participles	ordaining	ordained

Synonyms

• foresay

Related terms

• order

Translations

to prearrange unalterably

• Dutch: vaststellen (nl)
• German: festlegen (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: scisco

admit into the ministry of a religion

• Danish: ordinere
• German: weihen (de)
• Maori: whakawahi, whakapiriti, whakaminita
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ordinere

  Nynorsk: ordinere

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: рукополагать (ru) impf (rukopolagatʹ), рукоположить (ru) pf (rukopoložitʹ)
• Swedish: prästviga (of priests only), ordinera (sv) (of priests and bishops only), viga till (followed by the office in question)
• Ukrainian: висвя́чувати impf (vysvjáčuvaty), ви́святити pf (výsvjatyty)

See also

• ordination

Further reading

• “ordain”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “ordain”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “ordain”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Ardoin, Dorian, Rodina, donair, draino, inroad, radion, ranoid