Administracioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The management and government of public or business affairs ; the act of dispensing justice, a sacrament or medicine to those who need it
2. Organizing and governing the running of public or private affairs ; the formal giving out of justice, sacred rites or remedies to people
3. Directing and governing the conduct of public or private matters ; the act of distributing justice, sacraments or medicine to others

Etymology: "Administracioun" is Middle English, the spelling of the word that Chaucer and his contemporaries wrote for the management of public or private affairs. It was borrowed in the 14th century from Old French "administracion," which in turn came from Latin "administrationem," the noun of action from "administrare," meaning to manage, serve, or attend to. That Latin verb is built from "ad-" (to) and "ministrare" (to serve), and "minister" is the same root that gave English "minister" and "ministry." The word's sense was closely tied to service. Latin "minister" originally meant an attendant or servant, someone who waited on another person, so to administer something was first to serve it or carry out its duties on someone else's behalf. The meaning of managing affairs grew out of that idea of attending to business for a superior. Spelling in Middle English was far from fixed, which is why this form looks so unfamiliar. The "-oun" ending reflects the French-influenced pronunciation of the period, and it settled into the modern "administration" over the following centuries.