Maundement

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An old-fashioned term for a formal command or order, especially one given with religious or royal authority
2. An archaic word meaning a commandment or directive issued by a person in authority
3. A historical term for a solemn instruction or decree, often one associated with a sacred or legal obligation

Etymology: Maundy Thursday, the church day commemorating Jesus's last supper, takes its name from the same Latin source as this word. The Latin "mandatum" meant "command" or "order," and it was the first word of Jesus's instruction to his disciples in the Gospel of John: "A new commandment (mandatum) I give unto you." Medieval Latin used "mandatum" for the act of washing the feet of the poor on that day, which was done as a sign of humility. That ritual's name passed into Old French as "mandé" and then into English as "maundy." "Maundement" is a Middle English borrowing from Old French "mandement," itself from Late Latin "mandamentum," meaning a command, order, or mandate. Its meaning stayed close to that core sense of an authoritative order. The noun shares its root with "mandate" and "command," and with the legal writ "mandamus," which is a court order directing an official to perform a duty. The form "maundement" is recorded in Middle English texts, but I am uncertain of its earliest attested date.