Contremander

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To revoke an earlier command or order by issuing a new instruction that reverses it
2. Cancelling a previously given directive by announcing that it no longer stands and must not be carried out
3. Reversing an order that has already been issued so that it is withdrawn and no longer binding

Etymology: In Old French, "contremander" meant to revoke an order or to call back a command already given. It was built from "contre," meaning "against," which came from Latin "contra," and "mander," meaning "to command" or "to order." That second element came from Latin "mandare," which is itself a compound of "manus," "hand," and "dare," "to give." So the command was, at root, something put into someone's hand. English borrowed the term in the Middle English period, and it survived in legal and administrative contexts, where cancelling an order mattered most. Its spelling soon shifted toward "countermand," which has remained the standard form, while "contremander" itself has fallen out of use.