procuration
(prɒkjʊəˈreɪʃən)
[ME. procuracio(u)n, a. F. procuration (13th c. in Littré, also OF. -cion), ad. L. prōcūrātiōn-em, n. of action f. prōcūrāre to procure: see -ation.]
† 1. The action of taking care of, looking after, or managing; management, superintendence, administration, agency; attention, care. Obs.
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. xii. 193 Ek plauntis han this procuracioun Vnto their gret multiplicacioun. 1460 J. Capgrave Chron. (Rolls) 199 Be procuracion of the qween, Roger Mortimere was mad erl of Kent. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 287/2 Theophyle was receyued into the grace of the Bisshop by the procuracion of the deuyll. a 1552 Leland Itin. III. 114 The 2 Towers in the Haven Mouth were begon in King Edwarde the 4 Tyme... Kyng Henry the vij endyd them at the Procuration of Fox Bisshop of Winchester. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj., Stat. Dav. II 39 All they quha are destitute,..salbe vnder the Kings procuration, and protection within his Realme. a 1677 Hale Pomponius Atticus 24 He avoided the procuration of the Commonwealth, not for sloth, but in judgment. |
† b. Management for another; stewardship; procuratorship. Obs.
| 1484 Caxton Fables of æsop 3 b, To thende that my lord depose me not of my procuracion. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. iv. (S.T.S.) 207 Maximian..eftirward committing the procuratione of Britannie til Dionethie, passid in ffrance. 1689 tr. Buchanan's De Jure Regni apud Scotos 35 [They] think that a Kingdom is not a procuration concredited to them by God, but rather a prey put into their hands. |
2. The appointment of a procurator or attorney; the authority or power thus delegated; also, the authorized action of one's agent; the function of an attorney or representative. letters of procuration = b. by procuration, by attorney or proxy.
(The person so appointed signs p.p., or per proc., = per procurationem: see per I. 7.)
| 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. iv. ii. 232 Yf a man gyueth a procuracyon to another for to doo and execute certeyn thinges of his owne it is not therfore to be vndrestande that he gyueth him a generall procuracyon. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 221 The mariage was foorthwith made, and solempnized by procuration from the king of England. 1574 Reg. Privy Council Scot. II. 404 Be thair letters of procuratioun under the seill of the same toun. 1682 J. Scarlett Exchanges 155 When any one doth by the Order, full Power and Authority of another, which is called among Merchants Procuration. 1796 Burke Regic. Peace iii. Wks. VIII. 323 Without a letter of attorney, or any other act of procuration. 1844 Ld. Brougham Brit. Const. iii. (1862) 43 [He] could, if absent himself from just cause, appear by his procuration or proxy. 1870 Daily News 14 Dec., They clamour for sorties, vow to die for their country, and then wish to do it by procuration. |
b. A formal document whereby a person gives legal authority to another to act for him; a letter or power of attorney. Now rare.
| 1426 W. Paston in P. Lett. I. 25, I make this day a newe apelle and a new procuracion. c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode iv. xlvi. (1869) 198 But þat hire procuracioun be seled with deuocioun. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xix. 27 There this princesse was maryed, by a sufficient procuration, brought fro the kyng of Inglande. 1622 Malynes Anc. Law-Merch. 96 For that purpose he hath a Letter of Atturny, called a Procuration. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. xix. 342, I caused a procuration to be drawn, empowering him to be my receiver. 1889 W. Lockhart Ch. Scot. in 13th C. 40 They..sent on their procurations by some ecclesiastic to Rome. |
3. Eccl. The provision of necessary entertainment for the bishop, archdeacon, or other visitor, by the incumbent, parish, or religious house visited; subsequently commuted to a payment in money (but see quot. 1895).
| c 1450 Holland Howlat 220 The Ravyne..Was dene rurale..At vicaris and personnis, For the procuraciounis, Cryand full crowss. 1555 in Strype Eccl. Mem. (1721) III. App. xlvi. 140 Letted by the said Bisshope from gathering of procurations. 1654 Gataker Disc. Apol. 48 The Annual payments of Tenths and Subsidies to the King, the Procurations to the Bishop and Arch-deacon, the Assessments for the poor. 1661 J. Stephens (title) Historical Discourse on Procurations. 1726 Ayliffe Parergon 429 Procurations..are certain Sums of Money which Parish-Priests pay yearly to the Bishop or Archdeacon ratione Visitationis. 1862 C.B. Rep. (N.S.) XII. 416 At the..visitation..the churchwardens..attend the registrar..[and] pay the ‘procurations and synodals’ claimed as due from the clergy to the archdeacon. 1895 Phillimore Eccl. Law (ed. 2) iv. xi. §2. 1051 It seems..that where the estates of bishops have vested in the ecclesiastical commissioners under 23 and 24 Vict. c. 124, these procurations have become payable to the commissioners, who have, however, abandoned their collection. |
4. The action of procuring, obtaining, or getting; procurement.
| 1533–4 Act 25 Hen. VIII, c. 20 §2 Somes of money..payd at the seid See of Rome for procuracion or expedicion of any suche bulles breves or palles. c 1555 Harpsfield Divorce Hen. VIII (Camden) 153 He wickedly did let the procuration of children. 1651 Walton Life Wotton in Reliq. c iv, His procuration of Priviledges and courtesies with the German Princes, and the Republick of Venice for the English Merchants. 1695 Woodward Nat. Hist. Earth (1723) 25 Procuration of..Shells from several Parts of this Island. 1828 Blackw. Mag. XXIII. 594 Such irrational..beings..regard the difficulty of procuration as one of the most estimable qualities. 1882 Standard 26 Dec. 3/2 Those [coals] used in the procuration of steam power. |
b. spec. The obtaining or negotiating of a loan for a client; also, the fee for this.
| 1678 R. L'Estrange Seneca's Mor. (1702) 183 As to Judgments and Statutes, Procuration, and Continuance-Mony, these are only..the Dreams of Avarice. 1679 M. Prance True Narr. Pop. Plot 32 He would not let 40 or 50l. out for six Months, but he would have 40s. for Procuration,..and yet the full Legal Interest to run on. 1881 Times 18 May 6/5 The action..was one brought by the plaintiffs to recover {pstlg}120 their commission of 1 per cent for the procuration of a loan of {pstlg}12,000. |
c. The action of a procurer or procuress; pimping.
| 1696 Phillips (ed. 5) s.v., Procuration is also taken in an Ill sence, for the Act of a Baud or Pander. 1891 [see 5]. |
5. attrib. procuration fee, money: see quots.
| 1706 Phillips, Procuration, or Procuration-Money, a Duty which Parish-Priests pay yearly to the Bishop or Arch-Deacon, upon account of Visitation. 1769 Blackstone Comm. IV. xii. 157 If any scrivener or broker takes more than five shillings per cent. procuration-money, or more than twelve-pence for making a bond, he shall forfeit 20l. with costs. 1848 Wharton Law Lex., Procuration fee, a sum of money taken by scriveners on effecting loans of money. 1884 Law Rep. 25 Ch. Div. 280 He agreed to find the money for a lump sum as a procuration fee. 1891 Pall Mall G. 17 Oct. 6/3 The Chertsey procuration case... A servant..was charged with procuring her daughter.., aged fifteen years. |
Hence procuˈrational a., of or pertaining to procuration: see sense 2 above.
| c 1702 Case of Præmunientes Considered 13 Now, when there is no such Return made, and..seldom distinct Procurational Letters upon the Choice to Parliament. |