command

▪ I. command, v.
    (kəˈmɑːnd, -æ-)
    Forms: 3–5 comaund(e, 3–6 comand(e, 3–7 commaund(e, -ande, (4 comandi, komand(e, 5 co(m)mawnd, -ound, -awunde), 3– command. Also 3 cumaund, 3–5 -and(e, (5 cummawunde). pa. tense and pple. commanded, (formerly, 4 cumand, komande, 4–5 comand(e, -aund(e, 5 commaunde).
    [ME. coma(u)nde-n, a. OF. cumande-r, comande-r (= Pr., Sp. comandar, It. commandāre):—late L. or Romanic commandā-re, f. com- intensive + mandāre to commit, give in charge, enjoin.
    The primary sense of L. mandāre (f. manus hand + dare to give) was ‘to give into any one's hand or charge’, a sense retained by the ancient compound commendāre to commend, the vowel-change in which shows its prehistoric antiquity. In late historic times, new compounds were formed on the type of the simple verb, as demandāre, remandāre, and in still later, commandāre, which also took the later sense of the simple mandāre, ‘to order, enjoin’. Commendāre and commandāre occur indiscriminately, in both senses, in med. Latin (see DuCange). In OF. cumander, comander was both ‘to commend’ and ‘to command’; and so in ME. Subsequently the former sense became obs. in both: in Fr. being taken up by the new compound recommander; in English for this sense commend was taken afresh from Latin, and recomaund at length assimilated to it as recommend.]
    I. Simple sense. trans. To order, enjoin, bid with authority or influence. Properly said of persons, but also fig. of things.
    The original complete construction was with accusative of the thing enjoined and dative of the person to whom the injunction is given: L. hoc tibi mando, commendo; Fr. je le lui commande. In ME. the dative was sometimes expressed by to, ‘all thingis that I comaunde to thee’, but usually without it; hence the construction was formally two objects, ‘I command thee this’, the distinction of which as indirect and direct, has tended in many cases to be lost sight of. Either object may be unexpressed, leaving the other apparently as the sole object. The original accusative is often represented by a clause or infinitive phrase, ‘I command him to come, or that he come’; in which case the remaining personal object is apt to be viewed as direct, although it is historically a dative; cf. F. commande aux esclaves de venir, command (to) the slaves to come. Either object, if it be a n. or pronoun, may become the subject in the passive voice; ‘that which is commanded’, ‘he is commanded to go’.
    1. with direct and indirect object (the latter formerly often with to).

a 1300 Cursor M. 6809 Noght þat allon i comande ȝou. 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 258 [It] that commaundyt is him to. 1382 Wyclif Jer. i. 17 Alle thingus that I comaunde to thee. 1393 Gower Conf. I. 2 (MS. Harl. 3490) [I] me recommaunde To him [Richard II] which all me may commaunde. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 48 b, To command obedyence to other. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado ii. i. 271 Will your Grace command mee any seruice to the worlds end. 1611 Bible 1 Sam. xxi. 2 The king hath commanded me a businesse. 1615 Bedwell Moham. Imp. ii. §62 A iust man doth not command to another man, any thing but that which he doth vnderstand. 1628 Hobbes Thucyd. (1822) 70 You shall..be commanded a greater matter. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 747 Defaming what God..commands to som, leaves free to all. Mod. What the Queen commands you, must be done.

    † b. with the direct object expressed by a clause (or sentence). Obs.

a 1300 Cursor M. 20687 Now i cumaund þe Mi moder bodi kep wel to me. c 1314 Guy Warw. (A.) 203 He..him hete & comandi Þat he in to chaumber went. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iv. 8 Comaunde him þat he come. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxiv. 110 He comaunded to all..þat þai schuld forsake all þat þai had. c 1460 Towneley Myst. 66 Be stylle, beshers, I commawnd you. 1611 Bible Neh. xiii. 20, I commanded the Leuites that they should cleanse themselues.

    c. with direct object represented by an infinitive (formerly with for to; also often, as in Shakes., without to: cf. bid them go).

a 1300 Cursor M. 5986 Als he has comanded vs to do. c 1350 Will. Palerne 236 Of what kin he were kome [he] komanded him telle. c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 477 This child I am comanded for to take. c 1440 York Myst. xxxii. 119 Þus ȝe comaunded youre knyghtis for to saie. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. vi. 12 Command the Citizens make Bonfires. 1594 Marlowe & Nashe Dido iv. iii, The dream..Commands me leave these unrenowmed reams [realms]. 1605 Camden Rem. 21 Cardinall Wolsey..commaunded all his servaunts to vse no French. 1611 Bible Transl. Pref. 3 The Scriptures we are commanded to search. 1727 Swift Gulliver ii. viii. 169 He then commanded his men to row up to that side. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 260 The Princess Anne..had commanded him to assure her illustrious relatives at the Hague that, etc.

    d. in place of the infinitive there is occasionally a n. with to, ‘to command a person to a thing’, thus reversing the original construction. arch. or Obs. (cf. sense 6).

1602 Shakes. Ham. iii. ii. 377 These [stoppes] cannot I command to any vtterance of hermony. 1610 ― Temp. i. i. 23 If you can command these Elements to silence. 1724 De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 62 Your majesty may command me to anything.

    2. With the indirect object only: = To give commandment (to); to order, charge.

a 1300 Cursor M. 6816 (Cott.) Als i haue comanded to þe [later MS. comaundide þe]. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 434 Þer weren noon ordre, but ilche man myȝte ylyche comaunde to oþer. 1382 ― Josh. i. 9, I comaunde to thee [præcipio tibi] tak coumfort. Ibid. i. 10 Josue comaundide to the pryncis of the puple, seiynge. 1611 Bible Gen. xlix. 33 Iacob had made an end of commanding his sonnes. 1625 Burges Pers. Tithes 68 God gaue authoritie to the Husband to command his Wife in lawfull things. 1727 De Foe Syst. Magic i. iv. (1840) 111 He can speak nothing but as God shall command him.

    3. With the direct object only: To bid, order, ordain, appoint, prescribe. a. object a n. or pron.

a 1300 Cursor M. 10676 (Cott.) It was..commandid in þair ald lai. Ibid. 12639 Þat þai comaund wald or bide..he dide. c 1400 Mandeville xxiii. (1839) 254 What so euere ȝee commanden, it schall be don. c 1440 Gesta Rom. iv. 10 (Harl. MS.), I seide..þat if too Ivelis wer commaundid, þe lesse were to be chosyne. 1549 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer 87 Make vs to loue that whiche thou doest commaunde. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, v. v. 101 Sir Pierce..commands the contrary. 1603 ― Meas. for M. v. i. 463 It was commanded so. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iv. vii. 272 He searcheth whether malice did not command that oath. 1793 Blackstone Comm. (ed. 12) 296 That court had power to command the execution of it. 1883 Froude Short Stud. IV. ii. i. 167 The rule of life which religion commands.

    b. object a clause (or sentence).

a 1300 Cursor M. 2431 (Cott.) Þe king..commaunded thoruout al his land Men suld him mensk. Ibid. 4417 Putefar þan comanded son Þat ioseph suld be tan. a 1400 Isumbras 265 The sowdane..command that they solde be broghte. c 1460 Towneley Myst. 50 (Mätz.) The fyft commaundes, thou shalle forsake Fornycayon. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, i. iv. 201. 1611 Bible Neh. xiii. 19, I commanded that the gates should be shut. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 531 Then strait commands that at the warlike sound..be upreard His mighty Standard. Mod. The Queen has commanded that specimens be submitted to her.

    † c. object an inf. Obs.

c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 63 Þan comandid Harald Þo londes to destroie. c 1425 Seven Sag. (P.) 548 The emperour comandede anone, Afftir the childe for to goon. 1475 Caxton Jason 34 b, [He] commanded to sadle his hors. 1611 Bible Matt. xix. 7 Why did Moses then command to giue a writing of diuorcement.

    d. The object is often a n. or pron. with inf. pass.: thus, instead of ‘he commanded (some one) to bring the prisoners’, or ‘he commanded that the prisoners should be brought’, the usual phrase is, ‘he commanded the prisoners to be brought’, where the italicized words are historically only the direct object; but the construction simulates that in 1 b, ‘he commanded the men to be silent (= he commanded them silence), where both objects are actually present.

1382 Wyclif Matt. xviii. 25 His lord comaundide hym to be sold [so all 16th c. vv. (exc. Rhem. ‘commaunded that he should be sold’) and Revised 1881]. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. (1714) 120 Octavyan..comaundyd al the World to be discryvyd as subgett unto hym. 1509 Fisher Fun. Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. 296 Ordynaunces..whiche..she commaunded to be redde. 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. i. (Arb.) 33 [Darius] commaunded this sentence to be grauen in his tombe. 1611 Bible Acts xxv. 6 He..commanded Paul to be brought [so all vv.].

    4. absol. With no object: To perform the action of commanding; to give commandments.

c 1340 Cursor M. 29111 (Cott. Galba MS.) We may ensawmple tell how crist cumandes in his godspell. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 347 It is right esy to commaunde. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, iv. iv. 345 The King that may command, intreats. 1625 Burges Pers. Tithes 66 Hee..beleeues the Magistrate doth neuer command till he smite. 1847 Tennyson Princ. v. 440 Man to command, and woman to obey.

    5. fig. in all constructions.

1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. ix. 230 So commaundeþ treuthe. c 1400 Rom. Rose 34 Love..Comaundeth me, that it be so. 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 584 My sick heart commands mine eyes to watch. 1781 Cowper Hope 12 Riches are passed away..As fortune, vice, or folly may command.

    II. ellipt. Involving the sense of a verb of motion, of giving, etc.
    6. To order to come or go to, from, into, upon (a place or action), away, here, home, etc. to command from: to order to depart or refrain from.
    (Cf. to order goods, order any one home, away, off, out.)

c 1410 Sir Cleges 373 He commaundyd Sir Cleges to mete. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 183 The king..commaunded him to Prison. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. v. i. 335, I Sir am Dromio, command him away. 1601 ― All's Well ii. i. 27, I am commanded here. 1603 ― Meas. for M. iv. iii. 151 Command these fretting waters from your eies. 1620 Horæ Subseciuæ 469 You see I could not command these waues from touching me. 1649 Selden Laws Eng. i. lxii. (1739) 125 To command a Tenant into War against his own Lord. 1670 Milton Hist. Eng. Wks. 1851 V. 72 Commanded home for doing too much. 1688 Jer. Collier Sev. Disc. (1725) 159 When he [a soldier] is commanded upon a hazardous Action. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. ix. 214, I..charged them..to command them off. 1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round W. x. (1757) 294 Coming..within reach of our musquets, we with them commanded her on board of us.

    b. fig. To cause to come; to send with authority.

1611 Bible Lev. xxv. 21, I will command [Vulg. dabo, Wycl. give, Coverd. send] my blessing vpon you. 1781 Cowper Hope 669 See me sworn to serve thee [Truth], and command A painter's skill into a poet's hand.

    † c. techn. To cause to move, drive, actuate. Obs.

1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 179 Besides the commanding heavy Work about, the Wheel rids Work faster off than the Pole can do. Ibid. 200 Your Leg may..command the Pole down again.

    † 7. To order to be given; to demand with authority. Sometimes of or from a person. Obs.

1576 Fleming Panoplie Ep. 15 All that may be, commaund and looke for at my handes. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, v. i. 49 Let my Soueraigne..Command my eldest Sonne, nay all my sonnes, as pledges. 1611 ― Cymb. i. v. 9, I beseech your Grace..wherefore you have Commanded of me these most poysonous Compounds. 1786 A. M. Bennett Juv. Indiscretions V. 122 He presented, at her command, a rose that he gathered..Again a flower was commanded.

    III. To have power to order; to have at or under command or disposal; to control, dominate.
    8. trans. To have authority over; to be master of; to hold in control or subjection; to sway, rule.
    (The object was orig. dat. as in 2; hence in ME. with to.)

1382 Wyclif Judg. ix. 13 [12] The trees speken to the viyn, Com, and comaunde to vs [impera nobis]. ― Dan. ii. 39 The thrid rewme..whiche shal comaunde to al erthe. 1590 Marlowe Edw. II, ii. ii, The haughty Dane commands the narrow seas. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. i. 38 Thou art Protector, And lookest to command the Prince and Realme. 1630 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. 373 The Knights of Jerusalem..command all in all here. 1776 C. Lee in Sparks Corr. Amer. Rev. (1853) I. 153 Whoever commands the sea commands the town. 1808 J. Barlow Columb. ii. 601 Tigers fierce command the shuddering wood.

fig. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iv. i. 32 This other [Key] doth command a little doore. 1780 Cowper Table-t. 481 The mind that can..command the lyre. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. lxxxviii, My harp would prelude woe—I cannot all command the strings.

    b. absol.; rarely with over.

1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. i. 9 Vertue he had, deseruing to command. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1638) 75 The great Cham..commandeth ouer one of the greatest..Empires of the World. 1605 Camden Rem. 4 The Kings of England have commaunded from..Orkney to the Pyrene Mountaines. 1665 Boyle Occas. Refl. iv. xi. (1675) 238 It is..requisite that the Prince know how to command well. 1799 Med. Jrnl. II. 302 Persons..born to command.

fig. 1638 Chillingw. Relig. Prot. 1, Where and when your Religion hath most absolutely commanded..Atheisme hath most abounded. 1866 in Spurgeon Treas. David Ps. lxiii, Imperial Psalms, that command over all affections.

    9. To be commander or captain of (a force, fortress, ship, or the like).

1594 Marlowe & Nashe Dido iv. iv, æneas may command as many Moors As in the sea are little water-drops. 1605 Shakes. Macb. v. ii. 19 Those he commands, moue onely in command, Nothing in loue. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. I. 307 This city..was commanded by governor Carleton. 1806 A. Duncan Nelson 11 Captain Lutwidge commanded another bomb-vessel. 1837 W. Irving Capt. Bonneville I. 140 To dispose of all the beaver they take, to the trader who commands the camp. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 633 He still continued to command his old soldiers.

    b. absol. To be commander, have the command.

1601 Shakes. All's Well iii. vi. 57 A disaster of warre that Cæsar him selfe could not haue preuented, if he had beene there to command. 1724 De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 266 Colonel Forbes..commanded at the siege. 1847 Mrs. A. Kerr Hist. Servia 279 No Nenadowitsch now commanded on the Drina.

    10. To be master of (oneself, one's emotions, feelings, etc.); to hold in check, control, restrain (the passions). Formerly also with over.

1586 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. (1594) 316 He enjoyeth true tranquillitie..commanding over the unpure affections of the flesh. 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. i. v, Tis reasons glorie to commaund affects. 1621 Fletcher Pilgrim v. iv, Command thyself, and then thou'rt right. Command thy will, thy foul desires..Command thy mind, and make that pure. 1706 J. Logan in Pa. Hist. Soc. Mem. X. 162 He cannot command himself. 1802 M. Edgeworth Mor. T. (1816) I. xv. 126, F. commanded his temper. 1833 T. Hook Widow & Marquess (1842) 85 Can I command my feelings?

    11. To have (a thing) at one's bidding, or within one's power for use or enjoyment; to have at disposal or within one's reach or grasp.

1611 Shakes. Wint. T. i. ii. 463 It is in mine authoritie to command The Keyes of all the Posternes. 1625 Massinger New Way ii. ii, Could you not command your leisure one hour longer? 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. v. xiv. 412 Those who deserve no beere may command the best wine. 1713 Addison Cato 1, 'Tis not in mortals to command success, But we'll do more Sempronius, we'll deserve it. c 1790 J. Willock Voy. ix. 273 The safest..passage..lies through these islands, as, in case of a storm, ships can always command a port. 1794 Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 247 It is not every day I can command that sum [fifty guineas]. 1817 Malthus Popul. I. 34 note, Such an increase as will enable the mass of the society to command more food. 1881 J. Russell Haigs iii. 39 All the skill which the sculptor could command.

    12. To have (a person or his services) at one's call or disposal.

1561 J. Awdelay Frat. Vocab. 10 If euer he may do him any frendship..he shal commaund him. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iii. i. 23 Command me while I liue. 1593 ― 2 Hen. VI, iv. v. 7 Such ayd as I can spare you shall command. 1859 Thackeray Virgin. xix. 147 If any of us can be of use..you sure ought to command us.

    b. phr. Yours (etc.) to command († to be commanded): i.e. for you to command or dispose of.

1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 164 b, The somme of the Archebyshoppes letters was..that he is all his to commaunde. 1575 Ferrers in Gascoigne's Princely Pleas. (1821) 9 The Lake, the Lodge, the Lord, are yours now to command. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary (1625) 15 Which Subscription..shall passe in this or the like Order:..Your L[ordships] in whatsoever to be commanded..Your Honours ever to be commanded, etc. 1626 in Lithgow Trav. x. (1682) 467 Your Lordships to command to serve you. 1859 W. Collins After Dark 49 (Hoppe) Yours to command, Thomas Boxsius.

    13. To secure by just claim or rightful title; to exact, compel (respect, confidence, sympathy, etc.).

1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, iii. i. 8 This place commands my patience. 1771 Junius Lett. lix. 306 A great man commands the affection of the people. 1802 M. Edgeworth Mor. T. (1816) I. 225 She..must..command your sympathy. 1871 Smiles Charac. i. 9 They will..command the confidence which they really deserve. 1885 Spectator 18 July 943/2 His literary criticisms..when they fail to command our assent, nearly always command our admiration.

    14. To dominate by reason of (superior) local or strategic position; to control by overlooking or over-topping; spec. said of the artillery of a fortified eminence. Also intr. with over.

1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 1228 The place itself was..impregnable..by reason that it commanded over the Danubie. 1625 Bacon Ess., Truth (Arb.) 501 The vantage ground of Truth: a hill not to be commanded. 1694 Narborough Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1711) 109 The Guns cannot command from one Side to the other. 1769 Robertson Chas. V, III. viii. 90 Strong castles which commanded the principle defiles. 1795 Southey Joan of Arc viii. 600 A strong-built tower, commanding o'er the Loire. a 1842 Arnold Later Hist. Rome (1846) I. vii. 273 Steep cliffs overhanging the sea, and..commanding a small harbour. 1860 Motley Netherl. (1868) I. i. 7 The..Spanish Peninsula..commanding the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

    b. To have within range of vision, look down upon or over, overlook.

1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 409 His Head the Hills commands. 1780 Cowper Table-t. 581 An ell or two of prospect we command. 1810 Scott Lady of L. v. ii, Commanding the rich scenes beneath, The windings of the Forth and Teith. 1874 Ruskin Stones Ven. I. Pref. 7 My bedroom window commanded..a very lovely view.

    c. absol.

1648 J. Beaumont Psyche ii. 198 A princely Castle in the mid'st commands. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 614. 1763 Scrafton Indostan (1770) 66 A battery..which would have commanded to the Lake. 1781 Cowper Truth 3 Far as human optics may command.

    15. To cover (with a gun, fowling-piece, etc.).

1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. xii. (1681) 252 You may command her [Pheasant] at pleasure with your Fowling-piece. Ibid. 253 A Bird..somewhat troublesome to discover, whereby to command him by a Fowling-piece.

    16. to command a suit of cards: see quot.

1862 ‘Cavendish’ [H. Jones] Whist (1870) 28 A suit is commanded..by the hand that holds a sufficient number of winning cards in it to make every trick. 1874 Mod. Hoyle 12 The ten and the nine command that suit.

    † IV. 17. = commend. Obs.

c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2411 Comaundez me to þat cortays, your comlych fere. a 1400–50 Alexander 1333 Vn-to ȝoure mekill maieste my modire I comande. c 1400 Melayne 298 Comande me till oure gentill kynge. 1444 Paston Lett. I. 60 Right worchepfull cosyn I comand me to you. c 1450 Merlin viii. 130 Kynge Ban and his brother.. Comaunded theire londes in the kepynge of Leonces. c 1500 Lancelot 2801 The knycht, the wich in to hir keping vas, Sche had commandit to hir cussynece.

    b. to command to God: to commend to His keeping; cf. ‘To say adieu!’ or ‘good bye!’

c 1450 Merlin iv. 72 So he hym comaunded to god, and bad hym come on the morowe. 1484 Caxton Curiall (1888) 16 To god I comande the by thys wrytyng. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. x. 10 They..commaunded themselfe into the kepyng of God. c 1530 ― Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 168 So he toke his leue of the ladye, and she commaunded hym to God.

▪ II. command, n.
    (kəˈmɑːnd, -æ-)
    For forms see v.
    [cf. F. commande 13th c. (= Pr. comanda), f. commander to command; but the English word does not certainly appear before 16th c., so that it may have been formed here on the verb: cf. demand, order, call, and the modern invite.
    (An apparent example in Cursor M. (Fairf.) 13848 is perh. an error for couenand covenant, as in Cott. MS.)]
    1. a. The act of commanding; the utterance or expression of an authoritative order or injunction; bidding.

1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iv. iii. 5 One that attends your Ladiships command. 1611 Bible Job xxxix. 27 Doeth the Eagle mount vp at thy commaund? 1716–8 Lady M. W. Montague Lett. I. xiii. 44, I am always willing to obey your commands. 1832 Austin Jurispr. (1879) I. i. 91 A command is a signification of desire; but is distinguished..by this peculiarity: that the party to whom it is directed is liable to evil from the other, in case he comply not with the desire. 1872 Black Adv. Phaeton xii. 171 Her suggestion being fully understood to be a command.

    b. In various phrases, as at one's command, on command, etc. word of command: see quot. 1853.

1594 Shakes. Rich. III, i. iv. 198 What we will do, we do vpon command. 1596 ― Tam. Shr. iii. ii. 224 They shall goe forward Kate at thy command. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. 15 The next thing to be observed..is the Words of Command with readiness to answer and obey. 1811 Wellington in Gurw. Disp. VII. 544 The appointment, by command of the Prince Regent, of Major General Alten. 1853 Stocqueler Mil. Encycl. s.v., The orders..for certain motions, manœuvres, or evolutions, are called the ‘word of command’. Ibid., Officers or troops absent from quarters are said to be ‘on command’.

    c. ellipt. A command performance (see 10 below and command-night). colloq.

1839 Dickens Let. 26 Jan. (1965) I. 497 We are engaged to Macready..at Covent Garden Theatre, on the night of the Queen's ‘command’.

    d. Computers. An expression in a program, etc., that defines an operation, esp. a basic operation, or results in the performance of an operation; also, a signal or set of signals that results from such an expression and initiates the performance of the operation.

1946 Ann. Computation Lab. Harvard Univ. I. 15 The calculator continues in operation only so long as the command ‘continue operation’ is repeated, cycle by cycle. 1949 Math. Tables & Other Aids to Computation III. 428 In order to extract a group of digits contained within a word, with the commands available in the EDVAC, it is necessary to use two shift operations. 1951 Proc. Inst. Radio Engin. XXXIX. 272 The commands initiate the individual steps which form the process of executing the instruction. 1956 Berkeley & Wainwright Computers ii. 44 Other words for instruction are command, order, and program step. 1961 L. W. Hein Introd. Electronic Data Processing ii. 24 The clear add command first cleared the register to all zeros and then added to the register the contents of the specified address. 1966 New Scientist 27 Oct. 162/2 Conditional commands are allowed (‘save this data if the program test fails’). 1967 A. Hassitt Computer Programming & Computer Systems i. 12 The orders that the CPU issues to the channel are usually called ‘commands’; the word ‘instruction’ is reserved for the orders that the CPU obeys.

    2. An order authoritatively made and remaining in force, a commandment.

1552 Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 28 The x. Commandis. Ibid. 95 The Sevint Command..Thow sall nocht steil. 1586 Queen Elizabeth Let. in Hist. Eng. (1702) II. 53 We little thought that one We had raised out of the Dust would..haue slighted and broken our Commands. 1642 Rogers Naaman 553 As Papists have done with the second Command. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 652 God so commanded, and left that Command. 1722 De Foe Moll Fl. (1840) 120 It is ill venturing too near the brink of a command. 1835 Lytton Rienzi i. iii, But the command is hard.

    3. a. The faculty of commanding; exercise of authority; rule, control, sway; spec. that of a military or naval commander. Also fig.

1593 Shakes. Lucr. 624 Hast thou command? 1604 ― Oth. v. ii. 331 Your Power, and your Command is taken off. 1608 ― Per. iii. i. 3 Thou, that hast Upon the winds command. 1678 Butler Hud. iii. i. 1321 The Queen of Night, whose large Command Rules all the sea and half the Land. a 1700 Dryden (J.), He assumed an absolute command over his readers. 1780 Cowper Table-t. 354 Men..raised to station and command. 1781–3 ― Lily & Rose 13 The Lily's height bespoke command. 1813 Byron Br. Abydos ii. ix, High command Spake in his eye.

    b. with its scope defined by of.

1661 Cowley Cromwell Wks. (1688) 71 A Title to the Command of three Nations. 1666 Pepys Diary (1879) IV. 127 [To] have the command of a ship. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xvii. 74 The military Command of the old imperial City. 1876 Green Short Hist. viii. 546.

    c. with a and pl. Authority.

1605 Shakes. Lear ii. iv. 244 How in one house Should many people, vnder two commands, Hold amity?

    d. Phrases.

1598 Hakluyt Voy. I. Pref. to Rdr. **2, 200 French ships, vnder the commaund of Captaine Henry Pay. 1631 Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. 534 A man of great command in this Countie. c 1639 Roxb. Ballads VI. 429 A battel fought upon the seas, by a ship of brave command. 1779 Gentl. Mag. XLIX. 58 Having a fleet of thirty ships of war under his command. 1853 Stocqueler Mil. Encycl. s.v., An officer at the head of a troop..garrison..or detachment is ‘in command’.

    4. a. Power of control, disposal, or direction; mastery; possession with full power to use. command of language, words, etc.: facility of expression.

1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. v. xviii. 430 No man had better command of rain and sunshine in his face. 1658 J. Robinson Eudoxa i. 11 The choice..is within the command of our will. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. i. 20 The..priest behaved himself with great command of his passion. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. III. 189 The familiar use, and absolute command, of the Latin language. c 1850 Arab. Nts. (Rtldg.) 37, I had sufficient command over myself to suppress my emotions. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 231 Having gifts of courage..and command of money and friends. 1888 J. W. Elsworth Introd. to Braithwait's Strappado 26 Men inferior to him in command of words.

    b. at command: ready to receive or obey orders; under one's control; at one's service or disposal; available to use, spend, etc.

1584 Walsingham in Fuller Ch. Hist. ix. v. §9 And so I humbly take my leave. Your Graces at command, Francis Walsingham. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1625) 83 His house, his lands, his purse..were all at his command. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, i. ii. 45 Hast thou not worldly pleasure at command. 1630 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. 61 Hee is held the only wise man, who hath the world at most command. 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. xii. §6 (1681) 246 With your Spaniel well instructed, and at command. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 76 ¶1 Yet has he seldom a guinea at command. 1862 Cornh. Mag. June 649 (Hoppe) The reader's very humble servant at command. 1872 Morley Voltaire (1886) 167 An absolute monarch, with the most perfect military machine at his command.

    5. ‘Cogent authority, despotism’ (J.); coercion.

1692 Locke Educ. (J.), Command and force may often create, but can never cure, an aversion. 1854 H. Spencer Soc. Stat. 180 Command cannot be otherwise than savage, for it implies an appeal to force, should force be needful.

    6. a. The power of dominating surrounding country in virtue of elevated or strategic position; used lit. of the gunshot range of military positions, and also in various transferred senses.

1628 Digby Voy. Medit. (1868) 23, I..gott my fleete out of command of the fortes. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. i. v. 18 Within command of the flaming swords. 1703 Lond. Gaz. No. 3937/4 Of the whole Fleet only 4 escaped, by getting under the Command of Granville Fort. 1867 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) I. App. 753 His command of the passes of the Alps.

    b. spec. in Fortification (see quots.).

1823 Crabb Technol. Dict. s.v., A command in front, when any eminence is directly facing the work which it commands. A command in rear..A command by enfilade. 1830 E. S. N. Campbell Dict. Mil. Sc. 40 s.v., The Command of the Bastion over the surrounding country is nineteen feet. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 202 Command..the height of the top of the parapet of a work above the level of the country. 1888 Times 20 Aug. 12/1 The Woolwich guns have, the one a command—i.e. a height above the ground of 3 ft. 6 in.

    c. Range of vision, outlook, prospect.

1697 Dryden æneid (J.), The steepy stand, Which overlooks the vale with wide command. 1784 Cowper Task i. 290 The eye..posted on this speculative height Exults in its command.

    d. in Cards. See quot. and cf. command v. 16.

1874 Mod. Hoyle 22 You get rid of the command of your partner's strong suit most readily by leading your highest of the suit. 1880 A. Campbell-Walker Correct Card Gloss., Command of a suit, having the best cards of that suit.

    7. a. A position in which one commands; esp. a military or naval commander's post.

[Cf. 1604 in 3.] a 1687 Petty Pol. Arith. x. (1691) 115 Commands in our ordinary Army and Navy. 1764 Croker Dict. Arts, Command, in the royal navy, implies the rank and power of an officer who has the management of a ship of war. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 58 The places and commands which he held under the Crown. 1863 Ruskin Munera P. (1880) 136 Let us sell the commands of our prospective battles..to the lowest bidder. 1886 Whitaker's Almanack 159 District Commands (Home), Aldershot. Ibid. 191 Navy Pay..Admiral (home command) {pstlg}1,825.

    b. (a) the higher command: the general staff collectively of the British Army; also spec., the commander-in-chief.

1916 Times 15 Dec. 10/5 It was with great pain that he had heard the criticism upon the higher command. If there was one man in France who was trusted by every one from the highest to the lowest,..it was Sir Douglas Haig. Ibid. 16 Dec. 10/4 The hon. member's attack on the generals in the higher command. 1927 E. Thompson These Men thy Friends 30 And as for the Higher Command! How many generals do you suppose we've got rid of, up to date?

    (b) the high command: rendering of foreign expressions, e.g. G. Oberbefehl.

1917 Times 23 June 6/3 The High Command [of the Russian army]..is only too anxious to stand loyally by the Allies. 1918 Ibid. 7 June 6/1 The German High Command chose yesterday to issue its claims as to booty captured by the ‘Army Group of the German Crown Prince’. 1919 Maurice Last 4 Months 177 The High Command insists on the immediate issue of a peace offer to our enemies. 1928 Illustr. Hist. Russ. Rev. I. 137 The Army, which rose almost unanimously against its High Command. 1943 P. Jordan Diary 13 Jan. 136 This is one more repetition of the high command's consistent error, combined with the typical amateur's belief that you must always be ‘doing something’.

    8. a. The body of troops under a commander.

1592 W. Wyrley Armorie 90 To ride with me him most humbly praying With his command. 1607 Shakes. Cor. i. vi. 84 Foure shall quickly draw out my Command, Which men are best inclin'd. 1745 Earl of Shaftesbury in Priv. Lett. 1st Ld. Malmesbury I. 15 Sir John Ligonier is going from hence with a large command (I am told near 10,000 men). 1841 Catlin N. Amer. Ind. (1844) II. xli. 55 Colonel Dodge ordered the command to halt.

    b. In the names of various groups of armed forces, as of a unit on special duty, or of troops in a specified area, as Bomber command, Fighter command, South-East Asia Command. Also absol. Cf. coastal a.

1939 Times Weekly 1 Nov. 9/1 Aircraft of the Fighter Command have again been in action. 1939 War Illustr. 29 Dec. 538/2 A number of Squadrons forming a Wing, so many Wings a Group, and so to the Command. 1941 Hutchinson's Pict. Hist. War 14 May–8 July 75 A battery command post in the Eastern Command during shooting practice. 1945 Yorkshire Post 19 Apr. 3/1 Measures to improve conditions for troops in India and the South-East Asia Command were announced. 1960 B. Horrocks Full Life xxi. 278 Before the war Western Command had always been regarded as a backwater.

    9. The district under a commander; or, more generally, under the lordship of any one.

1621 Lady M. Wroth Urania 381 Bury mee..not heere, but in some of your owne commands. 1684 1st Dk. Beaufort's Progr. Wales (1864) 1 The generall visitation of his Commands. 1716 Lond. Gaz. No. 5402/3 A Noble Command for Game, about 20 Miles in Circumference. 1871 Times 1 June 5/1 The city of Paris is to be divided into four commands.

    10. Comb., as command aeroplane (see quot.); command allowance Mil., the additional allowance attached to a command; command car U.S., a staff car; command guidance U.S., the guidance of missiles, or of pilotless aircraft, by electronic signals; so command-guidance system, command missile; command-in-chief, supreme military charge (cf. commander-in-chief); command language Computing, a source language composed chiefly of a set of commands or operators, used esp. for communicating with the operating system of a computer; spec. a job control language; command module (see quot. 1964); command-night, the night on which a theatrical performance, etc., is given by (royal) command; command paper (abbreviated c., Cd., Cmd., or Cmnd. with register number, as Cd. 5723), a paper laid before Parliament, etc., by command of the Crown (see quot. 1929); command pay = command allowance; command performance, a theatrical, musical, etc. performance given by royal command; also fig.; command post Mil., the headquarters of a unit (see also quot. 1918) U.S.; command service module, a spacecraft comprising the command module and the service module, after the descent (e.g. lunar) module has been jettisoned.

1918 Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms, Command Aëroplanes.—Aëroplanes which observe the general progress of the combat and all that occurs on the side of the enemy.

1860 Leisure Hour 22 Mar. 186/2 Some pompous old British general.., merely imported to the East for the purpose of drawing his command allowance of {pstlg}4000 a-year. 1904 Kipling in Windsor Mag. Jan. 228/2 'Is nephew wants two bottles [of rum] command-allowance. 1956 E. Wilson Red, Black, Blond & Olive ii. 103 We were supposed to be met by a command car.

1949 Newsweek 21 Feb. 52/2 Command guidance... In this system the missile only needs to carry enough mechanism to receive and obey commands from the ground. 1952 K. W. Gatland Devel. Guided Missile i. 15 In the Command-Guidance system, one radar tracks the target, while the other tracks the missile, and each feed [sic] data into a computer, whereby steering commands are transmitted to the missile.

1859 Lang Wand. India 363, I am to have the command-in-chief at Bombay. 1888 Spectator 30 June 877/1 The direct command-in-chief of a million soldiers.

1958 in W. W. Youden Computer Literature Bibliogr. 1946–63 (1965) 13 A command language for handling strings of symbols. 1963 Communications Assoc. Computing Machinery VI. 117/1 A REtrieval COmmand Language (RECOL) which has sufficient flexibility for a number of applications requiring access to data stored in serial files. 1971 B. H. Rudall in R. A. Wisbey Computer in Lit. & Ling. Res. 281 (heading) A command language for text processing. 1985 Personal Computer World Feb. 163/1 This makes it possible to write command language interpreters, or shell programs as simple Modula-2 programs.

1947 Time 23 June 70/3 ‘Command’ missiles follow orders (radio signals) from the ground, a ship, or a piloted aircraft. 1962 New Scientist 19 July 123 A three-stage vehicle will send a spacecraft containing three men in a pressurized cabin (the command module) towards the Moon. 1964 J. L. Nayler Dict. Astronautics 51 Command module, the compartment in a spacecraft containing the personnel and the main controls. 1970 Guardian 18 Apr. 1/1 Two hours later came the jettisoning of the lunar module after the complex alignment procedures..on the command module had been completed.

1826 J. O'Keefe Recoll. I. i. 33, I often saw them..on the command nights at the theatre. 1911 G. B. Shaw Let. 27 June (1956) 174, I feel some remorse at having stolen so much of her command night.

1886 Accounts & Papers XXXIX. p. lxxi, Numerical List of Command Papers...c. 4603 Meteorology. 1900 Ibid. LX. p. lxxxi, Cd. 1 Trade Reports. 1919 Ibid. XXIII. p. xxxvi, Cmd. 1 Colonial Reports. 1929 G. F. M. Campion Proced. Ho. Comm. 69 Command Papers cover all the more important documents which the Government and the departments wish to publish on their own initiative. 1956 H. M. S. O. (title) Report on the Proceedings of the..Assembly of the Council of Europe... Presented by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to Parliament by Command of Her Majesty December 1956. Cmnd. 26.

1875 Encycl. Brit. II. 576/1 Lieutenant-Colonels of regiments, and other officers holding commands of wings, batteries, or depôts, receive ‘command pay’ of from 3s. to 1s. 6d. daily. 1876 Voyle & Stevenson Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) s.v. Command, A certain ‘command pay’ attached, in addition to the regimental pay. 1897 Strand Mag. XIII. 623 A ‘Command’ Performance at Windsor fifty years ago. 1922 Westm. Gaz. 29 Dec., She was a favourite at Command performances. 1934 Ld. Berners First Childhood xxiii. 235 The hissing..had been a ‘command performance’ and not in the least a genuine manifestation of public opinion.

1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms 134 Command post, a shelter near the observation station of a commander. 1941 [see sense 8 b above]. 1946 Amer. Speech XXI. 71/1 A private in the front was charged with the duty of sending reports back to the battalion CP (Command Post) by messenger. 1969 Times 21 Apr. 8/6 Close-up views of the moon..will be taken from the command service module (C.S.M.) and not from the L.M.

    
    

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     Add: 10. command-driven a. (of a program or computer) operated by means of commands keyed in by the user or issued by another program or computer (opp. menu-driven adj. s.v. menu n. 4).

1983 Your Computer July 31/3 dBase is *command-driven; that is, it does not present the user with menus of possible actions but instead relies upon the user to type in ‘English-like’ sentences specifying what he wants done. 1986 S. P. Harter Online Information Retrieval ii. 27 The major disadvantage of a command-driven system for online information retrieval is that the user must be quite familiar with the command language of the system to use it effectively.

Oxford English Dictionary