Ordainments

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A decree or order issued by a higher authority, often concerning religious or formal appointments or rites
2. The act of officially establishing or sanctioning something, particularly in a spiritual or ceremonial context
3. Formal regulations or rules set forth to govern actions, typically associated with religious or divine mandates

Etymology: The verb "ordain" comes from Old French "ordener," from Latin "ordinare," meaning "to arrange" or "to set in order." That Latin verb grew from "ordo," which originally meant a row or rank, as of soldiers or stones in a line. So the core idea behind the religious and divine sense is arrangement: something placed into a fixed sequence or position. "Ordain" took on its sense of formally declaring or decreeing something, and especially of conferring holy orders on a clergyman. The noun "ordainment" is formed by adding the suffix "-ment," which turns a verb into a noun for the result of the action, so an ordainment is something that has been ordained. The word is rare today, and it mostly survives in older religious or legal writing, where it names a decree understood to come from a higher authority.

Synonyms: appointments, designations, orders

Antonyms: dismissals, removals