ordain
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ordain
- /ɔɹˈdeɪn/ US
- /ɔːˈdeɪn/ UK
Rhymes with -eɪn
Where it comes from
From Middle English ordeynen, from Old French ordiner, from Latin ordinare (“to order”), from ordo (“order”). Doublet of ordinate.
verb ordains · ordaining · ordained
- To prearrange unalterably. What if the Foot, ordain'd the duſt to tread, / Or Hand, to toil, aſpir'd to be the Head? / What if the Head, the Eye, or Ear repin'd / To ſerve mere Engines to the ruling Mind?
- To decree. On once more we swung, bumping uneasily along in the antique narrow-gauge coach, with gloomy woods and gathering night outside, shouts and songs (and quacks) inside—this was not at all the sort of train ordained by the logical strategists in Paris—then grinding to a stop at a mysterious halt which w
- To admit into the ministry, for example as a priest, bishop, minister or Buddhist monk, or to authorize as a rabbi.
- To predestine.
Similar: foresay
Thesaurus
verb
Similar: foresay
Translations
Every language
verb to prearrange unalterably
| Deutsch | festlegen |
|---|
verb admit into the ministry of a religion
| Español | ordenar, ordinar |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 임명하다 immyeonghada |
| 中文 | 按立 ànlì |
| Deutsch | weihen |
| Русский | рукополагать rukopolagatʹ, рукоположить rukopoložitʹ |
| עברית | הִסְמִיךְ hismích |
Talk about this word "ordain." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ordain. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. ordain. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ordain "ordain." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ordain.Cite this
@misc{ordain_2026,
title = {ordain},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ordain},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
