Commanded

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /kəˈmændɪd/

Definitions

1. Issued a firm order for someone to do something ; exercised control or directed actions or behavior
2. Expressed a strong instruction authoritatively ; assumed control or guided a person or situation
3. Made a clear and direct demand ; held authority over and managed actions or events

Etymology: "Commanded" is the past tense and past participle of "command," and the verb traces back to a Latin word that meant "to entrust" rather than "to order." Latin "commendāre" combined "com-" with "mandāre," which meant to hand over or put into someone's keeping, and the same root gave English "commend," "mandate" and "recommend." The word's core idea is handing something over to another's care, and the sense of giving orders grew out of that transfer of responsibility. The path into English ran through Old French "comander," which passed into Middle English as "comanden" and related spellings. Its sense of authority over others developed through the Late Latin form "commandāre," which shifted the meaning from entrusting toward directing. Like "commend," it is a doublet of a sort, sharing an ancestor with its more polite cousin, which kept the older sense of recommendation.

Synonyms: ordered, directed, instructed, told, dictated

Antonyms: requested, asked, pleaded, begged, suggested