Pursuant

Part of speech: preposition, adjective

Pronunciation: /pəˈsjuː.ənt/

Definitions

1. In accordance with a specified guideline or rule that dictates an action or decision
2. Following a stated condition or term that governs a particular legal or formal process
3. In compliance with a rule, law, or directive that governs behavior or actions ; resulting from or done in response to an order, instruction, or command

Etymology: "Pursuant" comes from Anglo-Norman, the form of French spoken in England after 1066, where "pursuant" was the present participle of "pursure," meaning to pursue or follow after. Its literal sense is therefore something like "following on," and the modern meaning "in accordance with" grows naturally from that idea: an action that follows after a rule or instruction is one that conforms to it. The word has a close relative in "pursuivant," which is a doublet, meaning both words descend from the same source but reached English by different routes. "Pursuivant" kept a more concrete sense, referring to a follower or attendant, and specifically a junior officer of arms in heraldry who served a herald. The two words split apart in form and meaning, yet both preserve the same old notion of going after something.

Synonyms: in accordance, following, by virtue, after, according