English
commission
Commission comes from Latin commissiō ‘sending together’, and goes back to mittō ‘to send’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmittō‘to send’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommittō‘to join together’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommissiō‘sending together’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400commission
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500commissioun
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1593commission
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmittō‘to send’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommittō‘to join together’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcommissiō‘sending together’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400commission
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500commissioun
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1593commission
Earliest quotation: c. 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]: “Let him see our commission.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘change’
mean, met, community, minute, minister, common, meal, minor, ministry, menu, mutual, min, mere, communication, immune, communicate, minus, immunity, communist, municipality, mole, compromise, ammunition, mural, mayhem, noodle, moor, ammo, communism, communal, remuneration, communion, mite, commune, monolith, minstrel, mitra, mitre, minuet, communiqué, 72 more
through Proto-Indo-European *meyth₂- ‘exchange, remove’
message, mad, miss, mute, mutant, madden, mutate, mutable, molt, transmutation, misnomer, moult, commutative, commutation, 16 more
through Latin mittō ‘to send’
admit, mess, permission, transmission, transmit, premise, missile, dismiss, admission, submission, intermittent, emit, amit, emission, omit, omission, permissive, remiss, missive, 31 more
through Latin committō ‘to join together, unite, connect, put together’
Today it means
noun A sending or mission (to do or accomplish something).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin mittō / commission