provision

See also: Provision and provisión

English

Etymology

From Middle English provisioun, from Old French provisïon, from Latin prōvīsiō (“preparation, foresight”), from prōvidēre (“provide”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɹəˈvɪʒ.ən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: pro‧vi‧sion

Noun

provision (countable and uncountable, plural provisions)

1. An item of goods or supplies, especially food, obtained for future use.
   • 1626, Francis Bacon, The New Atlantis

     making provision for the relief of strangers

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book 10”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: Printed [by Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […] [a]nd by Robert Boulter […] [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: The Text Exactly Reproduced from the First Edition of 1667: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:

     And of provisions laid in large, / For man and beast.

2. The act of providing, or making previous preparation.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)

3. Money set aside for a future event.
4. (accounting) A liability or contra account to recognise likely future adverse events associated with current transactions.

   We increased our provision for bad debts on credit sales going into the recession.

6. (law) A clause in a legal instrument, a law, etc., providing for a particular matter; stipulation; proviso.

   Synonyms: condition, stipulation

   An arrest shall be made in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

7. (Roman Catholicism) Regular induction into a benefice, comprehending nomination, collation, and installation.
8. (Britain, historical) A nomination by the pope to a benefice before it became vacant, depriving the patron of his right of presentation.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Blackstone to this entry?)

Translations

item of goods or supplies obtained for future use

• Armenian: պարեն (hy) (paren)
• Azerbaijani: sursat, tədarük (az), azuqə (az) (food)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 配给 (zh)

• Dutch: provisie (nl)
• Finnish: eväs (fi) (food for short term such as work or picnic); muona (fi) (food);varasto (fi), varaus (fi), vara (fi) (other items)
• French: provision (fr) f
• Galician: provisión f
• German: Vorräte (de) m pl, (food) Proviant (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient: πόρος m (póros), ὀψώνιον n (opsṓnion)

• Hungarian: ellátmány (hu)

• Irish: lón m
• Japanese: 支給 (ja) (shikyū), 配給 (haikyū)
• Latin: penum n
• Maori: ō, ōmanapou, pōwhiriwhiri (for a journey), kamenga (applies only to food)
• Navajo: bidookįįłii
• Ngazidja Comorian: zawadi
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: skaffe (no), fremskaffelse m

• Polish: zaopatrzenie (pl) n, prowiant (pl) m
• Portuguese: provisão (pt) f
• Romanian: provizie (ro) f
• Russian: снабже́ние (ru) n (snabžénije), провиа́нт (ru) m (proviánt)
• Sanskrit: खाद्य (sa) n (khādya)
• Spanish: provisión (es)

act of providing

• Armenian: պարենավորում (parenavorum)
• Finnish: varautuminen (fi)
• Irish: oirchill f

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: levering m or f

  Nynorsk: levering f

• Occitan: provesiment m

money set aside

• Danish: hensættelse c
• Finnish: varaus (fi), vararahasto
• French: provision (fr) f
• German: Rücklagen (de) f pl

• Japanese: 準備高 (jyunbi-daka)
• Polish: zabezpieczenie (pl) n
• Portuguese: provisão (pt) f
• Russian: обеспече́ние (ru) n (obespečénije)

accounting: liability or contra account

• Finnish: varaus (fi)

law: clause in a legal instrument

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 條件 (zh), 條款 (zh)

• Dutch: bepaling (nl)

• Finnish: (in statutes) säännös (fi), (in contracts or non-governmental regulations) määräys (fi)
• Hebrew: תנאי‎ (he) m (tnay)
• Swedish: bestämmelse (sv) c

Verb

provision (third-person singular simple present provisions, present participle provisioning, simple past and past participle provisioned)

1. (transitive) To supply with provisions.

   to provision an army

2. (transitive, computing) To supply (a user) with an account, resources, etc. so that they can use a system.

Synonyms

• supply
• victual

Related terms

• deprovision
• direct provision
• ground provisions
• provisional
• provisionings
• provide

Translations

to supply with provisions

• Armenian: պարենավորել (hy) (parenavorel)
• Estonian: hankima
• Finnish: muonittaa
• French: (only in the financial meaning) provisionner (fr)

• Japanese: 支給する (shikyū suru)
• Polish: zaopatrywać (pl)
• Portuguese: prover (pt), aprovisionar (pt), provisionar
• Spanish: aprovisionar (es), avituallar (es)

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Finnish

Noun

provision

1. Genitive singular form of provisio.

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French

Etymology

From Latin prōvīsiō (“preparation, foresight”), from prōvidēre (“provide”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʁɔ.vi.zjɔ̃/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

provision f (plural provisions)

1. provision

Derived terms

• approvisionner

Further reading

• “provision” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• poivrions

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Middle English

Noun

provision

1. Alternative form of provisioun