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mandate

[man-deyt]
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noun
  1. a command or authorization to act in a particular way on a public issue given by the electorate to its representative: The president had a clear mandate to end the war.
  2. a command from a superior court or official to a lower one: The appellate court resolved the appeal and issued a mandate to the district judge.
  3. an authoritative order or command: a royal mandate.
  4. (in the League of Nations) a commission given to a nation to administer the government and affairs of a former Turkish territory or German colony.
  5. a mandated territory or colony.
  6. Roman Catholic Church. an order issued by the pope, especially one commanding the preferment of a certain person to a benefice.
  7. Roman and Civil Law. a contract by which one engages gratuitously to perform services for another.
  8. (in modern civil law) any contract by which a person undertakes to perform services for another.
  9. Roman Law. an order or decree by the emperor, especially to governors of provinces.
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verb (used with object), man·dat·ed, man·dat·ing.
  1. to authorize or decree (a particular action), as by the enactment of law: The state legislature mandated an increase in the minimum wage.
  2. to order or require; make mandatory: to mandate sweeping changes in the election process.
  3. to consign (a territory, colony, etc.) to the charge of a particular nation under a mandate.
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Origin of mandate

1540–50; < Latin mandātum, noun use of neuter of mandātus, past participle of mandāre to commission, literally, to give into (someone's) hand. See manus, date1
Related formsun·man·dat·ed, adjective

Synonyms

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3. fiat, decree, injunction, edict, ruling.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

decree, injunction, directive, instruction, command, sanction, authorization, edict, fiat, word, go-ahead, behest, precept, commission, charge, imperative, bidding, dictate, okay, warrant

Examples from the Web for mandate

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The mandate was obeyed, and Bates was lodged in the forecastle, securely ironed.

    Brave and Bold

    Horatio Alger

  • While she accepted him because it was the mandate of the gods, that was no reason that she should leave him in peace.

    White Fang

    Jack London

  • It was the mandate of his instinct that that head must be free.

    White Fang

    Jack London

  • The wretched Theodora was then ordered to retire, but she was unable to obey the mandate.

    Gomez Arias

    Joaqun Telesforo de Trueba y Coso

  • I was only too glad to comply with this mandate, but it was long ere I slept.

    The First Violin

    Jessie Fothergill

British Dictionary definitions for mandate

mandate

noun (ˈmændeɪt, -dɪt)
  1. an official or authoritative instruction or command
  2. politics the support or commission given to a government and its policies or an elected representative and his policies through an electoral victory
  3. Also called: mandated territory (often capital) (formerly) any of the territories under the trusteeship of the League of Nations administered by one of its member states
    1. Roman lawa contract by which one person commissions another to act for him gratuitously and the other accepts the commission
    2. contract lawa contract of bailment under which the party entrusted with goods undertakes to perform gratuitously some service in respect of such goods
    3. Scots lawa contract by which a person is engaged to act in the management of the affairs of another
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verb (ˈmændeɪt) (tr)
  1. international law to assign (territory) to a nation under a mandate
  2. to delegate authority to
  3. obsolete to give a command to
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Derived Formsmandator, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin mandātum something commanded, from mandāre to command, perhaps from manus hand + dāre to give
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mandate

n.

"judicial or legal order," c.1500, from Middle French mandat (15c.) and directly from Latin mandatum "commission, command, order," noun use of neuter past participle of mandare "to order, commit to one's charge," literally "to give into one's hand," probably from manus "hand" (see manual) + dare "to give" (see date (n.1)). Political sense of "approval supposedly conferred by voters to the policies or slogans advocated by winners of an election" is from 1796. League of Nations sense is from 1919.

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v.

1620s, "to command," from mandate (n.). Meaning "to delegate authority, permit to act on behalf of a group" is from 1958; used earlier in the context of the League of Nations, "to authorize a power to control a certain territory for some specified purpose" (1919). Related: Mandated; mandating.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
mandate in Culture

mandate

A command or an expression of a desire, especially by a group of voters for a political program. Politicians elected in landslide victories often claim that their policies have received a mandate from the voters.

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.