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definitions

commitment

[ kuh-mit-muh nt ]
/ kəˈmɪt mənt /

noun

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Nearby words

  1. commissure,
  2. commissure of cerebral hemispheres,
  3. commissurotomy,
  4. commit,
  5. commit to memory,
  6. commitment ceremony,
  7. commitment fee,
  8. committal,
  9. committed,
  10. committed facility
Also committal (for defs 1, 3–11).

Origin of commitment

First recorded in 1605–15; commit + -ment
Related formsnon·com·mit·ment, nounpre·com·mit·ment, adjectiveself-com·mit·ment, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for self-commitment

commitment

/ (kəˈmɪtmənt) /

noun

Also called (esp for senses 5, 6): committal (kəˈmɪtəl)
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 self-commitment

commitment

n.

1610s, "action of officially consigning to the custody of the state," from commit + -ment. (Anglo-French had commettement.) Meaning "the committing of oneself, pledge, promise" is attested from 1793; hence, "an obligation, an engagement" (1864).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper