mandate
English · Español · Français · Deutsch · Italiano · Română · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
mandate¹
- /ˈmændeɪ̯t/
- [ˈmændeɪ̯t]
- /ˈmeə̯ndeɪ̯t/ Canada, US
- [ˈmeə̯ndeɪ̯t] Canada, US
- /ˈmɛə̯ndeɪ̯t/ Canada, US
- [ˈmɛə̯ndeɪ̯t] Canada, US
- /ˈmɛ̝ːndæ̝ɪ̯t/ Australia
- [ˈmɛ̝ːndæ̝ɪ̯t] Australia
Where it comes from
First attested in 1521; borrowed from Latin mandātum (“a charge, order, command, commission, injunction”), substantivized from the neuter forms of mandātus, perfect passive participle of mandō (“to commit to one's charge, order, command, commission, literally to put into one's hands”) (see -ate (noun-forming suffix)), from manus (“hand”) + -dere (“to put”).
Sense 3 in Canadian English is likely a semantic loan from French mandat.
noun mandates
-
An official or authoritative command; an order or injunction; a commission; a judicial precept; an authorization.
Enactive. Expositive. / Art. 57. XIII 2. The Registrative, or say Recordative: exercised, by the arrangements and operations, by which, in conformity to corresponding ordinances and mandates, the accounts, given at different periods by the exercise of the statistic function, are kept in contiguity,
Similar: compulsion, obligation, authority, sanction, allowance, authorization, clearance, consent, leave, license, mandate, permission
- The order or authority to do something, as granted to a politician by the electorate. John Tyler and James K. Polk both regarded the election results as a mandate for the annexation of Texas.
- A period during which a government is in power. Throughout his last mandate, from 1980 to 1984, Mr. Trudeau insisted that we see ourselves solely as Canadians, that we set aside the historic compromises that underlie Canada as a federation.
- An order by the League of Nations to a member nation to establish a government responsible for a conquered territory, as the colonies of Germany after World War I.
- Such a territory.
mandate²
- /ˈmændeɪt/
- /mænˈdeɪt/
Rhymes with -eɪt
Where it comes from
First attested in 1623; partly directly borrowed from Latin mandātus (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more), partly from the above noun by metanalysis.
verb mandates · mandating · mandated
- To (officially) require someone to do something or act in a certain way, to give them the authority to do so; to command. A delegate conference was called, and garages invited to mandate their representatives to vote for or against continuance.
- To make mandatory. Federal law mandates that at least one nongroup insurer in your state must provide coverage to everyone, regardless of health issues.
- To administer or assign a territory to a nation under a mandate.
- To repeat, rehearse sermons or speeches aloud. After I have mandated my exercices.
mandate³
- /ˈmæn.deɪt/
Where it comes from
From man + date.
noun mandates
- Alternative form of man date: a date between two men. Moss: Oh, he's long gone, although Roy's got a mandate with him. Roy: It is not a mandate. I am not a man-woman. We are not married. I am not your wife!
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: authorization, territory, colony, province, dominion, territorial dominion, duty, fiat, injunction, obligation, warrant, behest, authority, responsible, command, authorize
Translations
Every language
noun official command
| Español | mandato, comandamiento |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 위임 wiim |
| 日本語 | 委任 inin, 指図 sashizu |
| 中文 | 授權 /授权 authorisation, 權利 /权利 quánlì, 命令 mìnglìng |
| हिन्दी | अधिदेश adhideś, शासनादेश śāsnādeś |
| Português | mandado |
| Français | mandat |
| Deutsch | Mandat |
| Italiano | mandato |
| Ελληνικά | εντολή entolí |
| Română | mandat |
| Русский | манда́т mandát, полномо́чие polnomóčije, поруче́ние poručénije, распоряже́ние rasporjažénije, указа́ние ukazánije, обяза́тельство objazátelʹstvo |
| Tiếng Việt | chỉ thị, lệnh |
| العربية | اِنْتِدَاب intidāb, حُكْم ḥukm |
| עברית | סַמְכוּת samkhút, מַנְדָּט mandát |
noun the authority to do something or to act
| Español | mando, comandamiento |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 권한 gwonhan |
| 日本語 | 権限 kengen |
| हिन्दी | अधिकार adhikār, जनादेश janādeś |
| Deutsch | Ermächtigung, Legitimation |
| Русский | манда́т mandát |
| עברית | מַנְדָּט mandát |
verb authorize
| Español | mandar, ordenar, preceptuar |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 授權 /授权 shòuquán |
| हिन्दी | अधिकृत adhikŕt |
| Français | autoriser |
| Deutsch | ermächtigen, bevollmächtigen, autorisieren, legitimieren |
| Italiano | autorizzare |
| Русский | уполномо́чивать upolnomóčivatʹ, авторизова́ть avtorizovátʹ, одобря́ть odobrjátʹ |
Talk about this word "mandate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mandate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. mandate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mandate "mandate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mandate.Cite this
@misc{mandate_2026,
title = {mandate},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mandate},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
