commission

English

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commission

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Middle English commissioun, from Old French commission, from Latin commissiō (“sending together; commission”), from prefix com- (“with”) + noun of action missiō (“sending”), from perfect passive participle missus (“sent”), from the verb mittō (“to send”) + noun of action suffix -iō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kəˈmɪʃən/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪʃən

Noun

commission (countable and uncountable, plural commissions)

1. A sending or mission (to do or accomplish something).
2. An official charge or authority to do something, often used of military officers.

   David received his commission after graduating from West Point.

   • c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     Let him see our commission.

   • 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Emperor of Lilliput, Attended by Several of the Nobility, Come to See the Author in His Confinement. ”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. , volume I, London: Benj Motte, , →OCLC, part I (A Voyage to Lilliput), page 43:

     This is an exact Inventory of what we found about the Body of the Man-Mountain, who uſed us with great Civility, and due Reſpect to your Majefty's Commiſſion.

3. The thing to be done as agent for another.

   I have three commissions for the city.

4. A body or group of people, officially tasked with carrying out a particular function.

   Synonym: committee

   the European Commission

   the Electoral Commission

   the Federal Communications Commission

   The company's sexual harassment commission made sure that every employee completed the on-line course.

   • 1855–1858, William H[ickling] Prescott, History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain, volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), Boston, Mass.: Phillips, Sampson, and Company, →OCLC:

     A commission was at once appointed to examine into the matter.

5. A fee charged by an agent or broker for carrying out a transaction.

   Hyponyms: (to a broker) brokerage, (to a shroff) shroffage

   a reseller's commission

   The real-estate broker charged a four percent commission for their knowledge on bidding for commercial properties; for their intellectual perspective on making a formal offer and the strategy to obtain a mutually satisfying deal with the seller in favour of the buyer.

   • 1935, G. K. Chesterton, The Scandal of Father Brown:

     [T]he scandal was the pretty common one of a corrupt agreement between hotel proprietors and a salesman who took and gave secret commissions, so that his business had a monopoly of all the drink sold in the place.

6. The act of committing (e.g. a crime or error).

   Antonym: omission

   the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism

   • 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, 6th edition, volumes (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: J Bettenham, for Jonah Bowyer, , published 1727, →OCLC:

     Every commission of sin introduces into the soul a certain degree of hardness.

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Punjabi: ਕਮਿਸ਼ਨ (kamiśan)

Translations

Verb

commission (third-person singular simple present commissions, present participle commissioning, simple past and past participle commissioned)

1. (transitive) To send or officially charge someone or some group to do something.

   James Bond was commissioned with recovering the secret documents.

   • 2012 August 1, Owen Gibson, London 2012: rowers Glover and Stanning win Team GB's first gold medal‎, Guardian Unlimited:

     Stanning, who was commissioned from Sandhurst in 2008 and has served in Afghanistan, is not the first solider to bail out the organisers at these Games but will be among the most celebrated.

2. (transitive) To place an order for (often a piece of art).

   He commissioned a replica of the Mona Lisa for his living room, but the painter gave up after six months.

3. (transitive, especially of a ship or boat) To put into active service.

   The aircraft carrier was commissioned in 1944, during WWII.

   • 2023 March 8, Chris Howe, “Building the platform for Old Oak Common's platforms”, in RAIL, number 978, page 60:

     The 1.7 mile-long conveyor system was commissioned in November 2022, and will remove one million lorry movements from the roads around West London.

Derived terms

• commissioning editor
• re-commission

Translations

Chinese

Etymology

From English commission. Compare Wu 康密興／康密兴 (¹khaon-miq-shin).

Pronunciation

Noun

commission

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) commission (fee)

Synonyms

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin commissiōnem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ.mi.sjɔ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

commission f (plural commissions)

1. commission (fee charged by an agent or broker for carrying out a transaction)

Derived terms

• Commission européenne
• grosse commission

Descendants

• → Ottoman Turkish: قومیسیون (komisyon)
  • Turkish: komisyon
• → Persian: کمیسیون (komisiyon)

Further reading

• “commission”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.