English
commandment
Commandment comes from Old French comandement ‘command’, from Latin commendō ‘to commend, entrust to, commit’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *manus ‘hand’.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*manus‘hand’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*manuðō‘to hand over’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmandō‘to order, command, enjoin’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommendō‘to commend, entrust to, commit’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommandāre
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400comander‘to command, to implore’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400comandement‘command’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500comaundement‘directive, order, request’
- Englishearliest quotation 1562–1565commandment
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*manus‘hand’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*manuðō‘to hand over’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmandō‘to order, command, enjoin’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommendō‘to commend, entrust to, commit’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommandāre
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400comander‘to command, to implore’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400comandement‘command’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500comaundement‘directive, order, request’
- Englishearliest quotation 1562–1565commandment
Earliest quotation: 1562–1565, Thomas Smyth [i.e., Of the Diuersities of Common Wealthes or Gouernement: “To rule, is vnderſtoode to haue the higheſt and…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- ‘to beckon, signal’
amaze, mannered, mastiff, 32 more
through Proto-Italic *manus ‘hand’
main, manner, manage, manual, manga, manifest, mano, manus, manacles, 31 more
through Latin mandō ‘to order, command, enjoin’
mandatory, mandate, manger, mandible, commendation, mange, mandibular, 14 more
through Latin commendō ‘to commend, entrust to, commit’
through Old French comander ‘to command, to implore’
Today it means
noun A divinely ordained command, especially one of the Ten Commandments.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *manus / commandment