Missioned

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have been assigned a specific task or duty to accomplish
2. Referring to having been officially tasked or directed to complete an objective or project
3. Pertaining to the state of having been given a mission to carry out responsibilities or goals

Etymology: "Missioned" is simply the past tense and past participle of the verb "mission," so its story is the story of "mission." That word goes back to Latin "mittere," meaning "to send," and its noun form "missio," which meant a sending away, a dispatching, or a release. Early English borrowed the Latin noun directly, so the original idea of being sent out on an errand stayed at the core of the word. The "-ed" ending is the regular English way of marking past action, which is why "missioned" follows the pattern of countless other verbs derived from nouns. Because "mission" was first a noun, the verb form arrived only after people started using the word as an action in its own right, sending someone out on a task.

Synonyms: assigned, delegated

Antonyms: dismissed, freed