ordain
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or·dain
(ôr-dān′)tr.v. or·dained, or·dain·ing, or·dains
1.
a. To invest with ministerial or priestly authority; confer holy orders on: ordain a priest.
b. To authorize as a rabbi.
2. To order or decree by virtue of superior authority: The management ordained that business attire should be worn in the office at all times.
3. To prearrange unalterably; predestine: events that were ordained by fate.
[Middle English ordeinen, from Old French ordener, ordein-, from Latin ōrdināre, to organize, appoint to office, from ōrdō, ōrdin-, order; see ar- in Indo-European roots.]
or·dain′er n.
or·dain′ment n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ordain
(ɔːˈdeɪn)vb (tr)
1. (Ecclesiastical Terms) to consecrate (someone) as a priest; confer holy orders upon
2. (may take a clause as object) to decree, appoint, or predestine irrevocably
3. (may take a clause as object) to order, establish, or enact with authority
4. obsolete to select for an office
[C13: from Anglo-Norman ordeiner, from Late Latin ordināre, from Latin ordo order]
orˈdainer n
orˈdainment n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
or•dain
(ɔrˈdeɪn)v.t.
1. to invest with ministerial or sacerdotal functions; confer holy orders upon.
2. to enact or establish by law, edict, etc.
3. to decree; give orders for.
4. (of God, fate, etc.) to destine or predestine.
5. Archaic. to select for or appoint to an office.
v.i. 6. to order or command.
[1250–1300; Middle English < Old French ordener < Latin ordināre to order, arrange, appoint. See ordination]
or•dain′a•ble, adj.
or•dain′er, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ordain
Past participle: ordained
Gerund: ordaining
Imperative |
---|
ordain |
ordain |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Verb | 1. | ordain - order by virtue of superior authority; decree; "The King ordained the persecution and expulsion of the Jews"; "the legislature enacted this law in 1985" decree - issue a decree; "The King only can decree" reenact - enact again; "Congress reenacted the law" |
2. | ordain - appoint to a clerical posts; "he was ordained in the Church" | |
3. | ordain - invest with ministerial or priestly authority; "The minister was ordained only last month" | |
4. | ordain - issue an order predestine - decree or determine beforehand will - decree or ordain; "God wills our existence" destine, doom, fate, designate - decree or designate beforehand; "She was destined to become a great pianist" decree - issue a decree; "The King only can decree" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
ordain
verb
1. appoint, call, name, commission, select, elect, invest, install, nominate, anoint, consecrate, frock Her brother was ordained as a priest in 1982.
2. (Formal) order, will, rule, demand, require, direct, establish, command, dictate, prescribe, pronounce, lay down, decree, instruct, enact, legislate, enjoin He ordained that women should be veiled in public.
3. predestine, fate, intend, mark out, predetermine, foreordain, destine, preordain His future seemed ordained right from the start.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
ordain
verbTo set forth expressly and authoritatively:
Idioms: call the shots, lay it on the line.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يَرْسُم الشَّخْصَ كاهِنا
ordinere
vígja
ordinēt, iesvētīt
papaz yapmak
ordain
[ɔːˈdeɪn]A. VT
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
ordain
[ɔːrˈdeɪn] vtCollins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
ordain
vt
sb → ordinieren; (Eccl) a priest → weihen; to be ordained priest/to the ministry → ordiniert werden; (Catholic also) → zum Priester geweiht werden
(= destine: God, fate) → wollen, bestimmen; God has ordained that man should die → Gott hat es gewollt or hat bestimmt, dass der Mensch sterbe; fate ordained that he should die, it was ordained that he should die → das Schicksal hat es so gefügt or es war ihm vom Schicksal bestimmt, dass er sterben sollte
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
ordain
(oːˈdein) verb to make (someone) a priest, minister etc, usually by a church ceremony. He was ordained a priest.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.