commandment

[ kuh-mand-muhnt, -mahnd- ]

noun

1. a command or mandate.
2. (sometimes initial capital letter) any of the Ten Commandments.
3. the act or power of commanding. commanding.

commandment

/ kəˈmɑːndmənt /

noun

1. a divine command, esp one of the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament
2. literary.
   any command

Word History and Origins

Origin of commandment¹

1200–50; Middle English com ( m ) and ( e ) ment < Anglo-French, Old French com ( m ) andement. See command, -ment

Example Sentences

"Jamsetji always had been especially fond of Shapurji and saw in him from a very early age the possibilities of great potential; he gave him a lot of attention and had great faith in his abilities, both as a boy and as a man," Saklatvala's daughter, Sehri, writes in The Fifth Commandment, a biography of her father.

From BBC

Every good linebacker follows the same commandment, because otherwise you’d never be able to play a position that requires sacrificing your body and opening your mind to disrupt plays, confront bigger linemen and make tackle after tackle even when exhausted.

From Los Angeles Times

The practice is derived from the Bible's fourth commandment which states "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy".

From BBC

It said that he had set out what the position was in ancient times but that he had “made it very clear that anyone following the Biblical commandment today would be causing the army and the nation extreme harm” and that under national law “it is forbidden to harm the civilian population from a child to an old man”.

From BBC

A village priest in Kostroma region was fined for discrediting Russia's armed forces after praying for peace and mentioning the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill".

From BBC

Related Words

• edict
• precept