administration
(ædˌmɪnɪˈstreɪʃən)
Also 4–6 admynystracion, -cioun, -tyon, etc.
[ad. L. administrātiōn-em, n. of action, f. administrā-re: see administer v. The Fr. administration (13th c. in Littré) may be the immed. source.]
† 1. The action of administering or serving in any office; service, ministry, attendance, performance of duty. Obs. in general sense.
| 1382 Wyclif 2 Cor. iv. 1 Therfore we hauynge this administracioun, or office [Vulg. administrationem]..faylen not. 1484 Caxton Curial iij b, Thanguysshes that he hath suffred in admynystracion publycque. 1526 Tindale 1 Cor. xii. 5 Ther are differences of administracions, and yet but one lorde [Wyclif seruycis, Rheims ministrations, 1611 administrations]. 1676 Hale Contempl. i. 356 No man's condition is desperate so long as the Physician continues his administration. 1791 Boswell Johnson (1816) I. 18 All the stores of nature and of art stand in prompt administration. |
† 2. Performance, execution of. Obs.
| 1598 R. Barckley Felicitie of Man (1631) 309 Hee that buyeth an office, must sell the administration of it. 1611 Bible 2 Cor. ix. 12 For the administration of this seruice..is abundant also by many thanksgiuings vnto God [Wyclif mynysterie, Tindale ministracion]. |
3. Management (of any business).
| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. i. (1560) 199/2, I..desired to put foorth in execucion and in act of commen administracion thilke things that I had learned. 1494 Fabyan vii. 547 Rule and gouernaunce of the same kyngedome and lordeshyppes, with all admynystracions of the same. 1538 Starkey England 4 Admynystratyon of the maters of the commyn wel. 1769 Robertson Chas. V, VI. vi. 107 In him was vested the sovereign administration of the revenues. 1868 Ruskin Pol. Econ. Art i. 18 The principles which are right in the administration of a few fields, are right also in the administration of a great country. |
4. ellipt. The management of public affairs; the conducting or carrying on of the details of government; hence, sometimes, used for government.
| 1681 H. Nevile Plato Rediv. 79 All the difficulty in our Administration, hath been to regulate our own Nobility. 1771 Junius Lett. xlix. 254 The real injuries they received from every measure of your grace's administration. 1825 T. Jefferson Autobiog. Wks. 1859 I. 50, I resigned the administration at the end of my second year. 1851 ‘L. Mariotti’ Italy i. 25 Salutary reforms in every branch of administration. |
5. a. The executive part of the legislature; the ministry; now often loosely called the ‘Government.’
| 1731 Gentlem. Mag. (1806) I. 9 A Defence of the measures of the present Administration. 1783 Cowper Priv. Corr. (1824) I. 250 The deplorable condition of the country, insisted on by the friends of administration, and not denied by their adversaries. 1790 Beatson Nav. & Mil. Mem. I. 17 Our Administration took alarm thereat. 1840 Macaulay Clive 84 A rapid succession of weak administrations..had held the semblance of power. |
b. transf. The period of office of a particular government, president, etc. U.S.
| 1796 G. Washington in Deb. Congr. U.S. (1849) 17 Sept. iv. ii. 2880 In reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of intentional error. 1889 in Cent. Dict. 1927 D. S. Muzzey History 484 During Harrison's administration..expenditures had mounted steadily. 1948 W. R. Benét Reader's Encycl. 550/1 The charter of the United States Bank was vetoed during [President] Jackson's administration. 1984 Washington Post 4 Sept. c6/3 She..served as an ambassador to Denmark during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. |
6. Law. The management and disposal of the estate of a deceased person by an executor or administrator. spec. As opposed to probate, The authority to administer the estate of an intestate, as conferred by Letters of Administration granted, formerly by the Ordinary, now by the Probate Division of the High Court of Justice.
| 1538 Starkey England 127 The prerogatyfe gyven to the same Byschope of Canterbury, wherby he hath..the admynystratyon of intestate godys. 1574 tr. Littleton's Tenures §200 If that he make no executours when he entreth into religion, then the ordinary may commit the administration of his goods to others, as if he were dead indeed. 1708 Bickerstaff Det. in Swift's Wks. 1755 II. i. 166 Once a term she is cited into the court to take out letters of administration. 1852 M{supc}Culloch Taxation ii. vi. §3 (ed. 2) 300 The court by which the probate or administration is granted. 1867 E. V. Williams Executors & Administr. iii. i. ii. (1867) II. 885 Co-executors..are regarded in law as an individual person..the acts of any one of them, in respect of the administration of the effects, are deemed to be the acts of all. |
7. The action of administering something to others: a. Dispensation (of a sacrament, of justice, etc.). b. Giving or application (of remedies). c. Tendering (of an oath).
| c 1315 Shoreham 57 The signe hys of thys sacrament The bisschopes blessynge, Forth myd the admynystracioun. 1474 Caxton Chesse ii. i. A 8 b, He ought alwey thynk on the gouernement of the royame & who hath thadmynystracion of justyce. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, v. ii. 75 In the administration of his Law. 1635 E. Pagitt Christianogr. 66 For the Administration of the Sacrament of Baptisme. 1677 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. 232 These severe Administrations of War could not be without great Desolations. 1768 Blackstone Comm. III. 73 To rectify and redress any mal-administrations of justice. 1875 Wood Therap. (1879) 195 In poisoning by oxalic acid, the immediate administration of an antidote is of the utmost importance. |
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Add: [6.] b. Law. The control and direction of the property of an insolvent company, bankrupt individual, etc., by an administrator, esp. under the terms of an administration order.
| 1870 Felony Act 33 & 34 Vict. c.23 §18 All such property shall be preserved and held in trust by the said administrator..for the use and benefit of the said convict.., and the possession, administration and management thereof, shall re-vest in and be restored to such convict upon his ceasing to be subject to the operation of this Act. 1883 Bankruptcy Act 46 & 47 Vict. c.52 §122 When a judgement has been obtained in a county court and the debtor is unable to pay the amount forthwith..the county court may make an order providing for the administration of his estate. 1927 A. Roper & G. L. Haggen Ringwood's Princ. Bankruptcy (ed. 15) xii. 204 All payments in the course of the administration must be made into or out of the Bank of England. 1959 Dict. Eng. Law I. 59/1 Administration also means..dealing according to law with the property of bankrupts and persons of unsound mind. 1982 Insolvency Law & Practice (Rep. Rev. Committee) (Cmnd. 8558) ix. 122 An Administration, once confirmed, should continue until either: (a) a resolution has been passed for a Liquidation of Assets; or (b) the Court has made an order discharging the Administration Order or making a Protection Order. 1992 Economist 30 May 112/2 Companies can emerge from administration as going concerns. Randsworth Trust, which owns {pstlg}350m of British property, went into administration in March... But survival depends on finding new investors willing to stump up fresh money. |
8. Special Comb. administration order Law, a court order requiring the proper administration of the property of a deceased or bankrupt individual, insolvent company, etc.
| [1854 F. S. Williams New Pract. Court of Chancery (Appendix of Forms) 184 (heading) Special form of order for administering the estate of a married woman.] 1883 in R. Ringwood Princ. Bankruptcy (1884) (ed. 3) xii. 136 Power for county court to make *administration order instead of order for payment by instalments. 1908 A. R. Ingpen Conc. Treat. Law Executors & Administrators xxviii. 355 A decree for administration of assets is in the nature of a judgment for all creditors..and stops all proceedings... A creditor, however, who has obtained judgment against the executor before the administration order, will not be restrained from pursuing his remedy against the executor personally. 1935 N.Y. Suppl. CCLXXVII. 253 It may..be said that the complaint is defective for failure to allege a compliance by the plaintiff with Administration Order No. X-36, of May 26, 1934. 1989 Guardian 27 July 11/6 Kentish announced that it had applied for an administration order which, if successful, will give the troubled firm a breathing space. |