consignment
(kənˈsaɪnmənt)
[f. as prec. + -ment.]
1. Sealing or dedicating with a sign.
| 1563 J. Man Musculus' Commonpl. 282 a, We shall define baptisme..to bee the Sacrament of regeneration.. sanctification, consignment and incorporation into Christ our Saviour. |
† 2. Law. Hypothecation. Obs.
| 1622 Malynes Anc. Law-Merch. 457 In acts of Pawnes and Consignements by one onely fault duely proued. |
3. Delivering over; delivery, committal, allotment.
| a 1668 Davenant Philos. Disq. Wks. (1673) 332 And seemes to come, Not by consignement to us, but by chance. 1878 Lecky Eng. in 18th C. I. i. 127 The kidnapping..of negroes, and their consignment to the most miserable slavery. |
4. The consigning of goods or a cargo, esp. to an agent for sale or disposal; = consignation 6.
| 1709 Steele Tatler No. 31 ¶7 Ask all the Merchants who act upon Consignments. 1755 N. Magens Insurances I. 373 Hemp laden on board the Matthew, to the Consignment of Messrs. Gampert and Whatley. 1800 Hull Pilotage Act 14 The charge, agency, or consignment of any ship. 1885 Law Times LXXIX. 194/1 The goods by the fact of consignment became the property of the consignee. |
b. ‘The writing by which any thing is consigned.’
| 1755 in Johnson: whence in later Dicts. |
5. concr. A quantity of goods consigned to an agent or factor.
| 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 328 To see what prodigious consignments they had from their correspondents in Old Spain. 1877 A. Brassey Voy. Sunbeam xiv. (1878) 245 A large consignment of pearls entrusted to the captain. |
‖ 6. Confinement within bounds by way of discipline or punishment; ‘gating’. [F. consigne; cf. consigné.]
| 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. v. iii, Behold them, long files of them, their consignment broken, arrive, headed by their Sergeants..at the Palais Royal! |
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▸ consignment shop n. N. Amer. a shop which sells goods (esp. second-hand clothing) on behalf of private individuals, who receive a percentage of the selling price.
| 1942 Los Angeles Times 20 Feb. ii. 7/4 *Consignment shop elects. At a meeting this week, officers were re-elected for Pasadena's Half-Way Shop, a liaison agency for consigning local home-produced goods. 2003 E. Viets Shop till you Drop i. 2 By next season, Brittney would have given her thousand-dollar outfit to the maid, and Christina would have sent hers to the consignment shop. |
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▸ consignment store n. N. Amer. = consignment shop n. at Additions.
| 1930 Lincoln (Nebraska) Star 10 May 7/6 (advt.) Furniture *Consignment Store Auction Sale every Wednesday evening at 7 o'clock. Consign what you have or we will buy your furniture for cash. 1995 Today's Parent Aug. (Toronto Suppl.) 7/2 After checking out your local department store and favourite children's boutique, why not pay a visit to a consignment store that specializes in kid's clothes? |