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Origin and history of countermand

countermand(v.)

"to revoke (a command or order)," early 15c., contremaunden, from Anglo-French and Old French contremander "reverse an order or command" (13c.), from contre- "against" (see contra (prep., adv.)) + mander, from Latin mandare "to order" (see mandate (n.)). Related: Countermanded; countermanding. As a noun, "a contrary order," 1540s.

also from early 15c.

Entries linking to countermand

contra(prep., adv.)

"against, over against, opposite, on the opposite side; on the contrary, contrariwise," mid-14c., from Latin contra (prep. and adv.) "against," originally "in comparison with," ablative singular feminine of *com-teros, from Old Latin com "with, together" (see com-) + -tr, zero-degree form of the comparative suffix -ter-.

mandate(n.)

c. 1500, "a command, a judicial or legal order," from French mandat (15c.) and directly from Latin mandatum "commission, command, order," noun use of neuter past participle of mandare "to order, commit to one's charge," literally "to give into one's hand," probably from manus "hand" (from PIE root *man- (2) "hand") + dare "to give" (from PIE root *do- "to give").

Political sense of "approval supposedly conferred by voters to the policies or slogans advocated by winners of an election" is from 1796. League of Nations sense "commission issued by the League authorizing a selected power to administer and develop a territory for a specified purpose" (also used of the territory so specified) is from 1919.

*man-(2)

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "hand."

It might form all or part of: amanuensis; command; commando; commend; countermand; demand; Edmund; emancipate; legerdemain; maintain; manacle; manage; manciple; mandamus; mandate; manege; maneuver; manicure; manifest; manipulation; manner; manque; mansuetude; manual; manubrium; manufacture; manumission; manumit; manure; manuscript; mastiff; Maundy Thursday; mortmain; Raymond; recommend; remand; Sigismund.

It might also be the source of: Hittite maniiahh- "to distribute, entrust;" Greek mane "hand," Latin manus "hand, strength, power over; armed force; handwriting," mandare "to order, commit to one's charge," literally "to give into one's hand;" Old Norse mund "hand," Old English mund "hand, protection, guardian," German Vormund "guardian;" Old Irish muin "protection, patronage."

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    revoke
    mid-14c., revoken, "make a retraction, renounce," from Old French revoquer (13c.), from Latin revocare "rescind, call back," from re- "back" (see re-) + vocare "to call," which is related to vox (genitive vocis) "voice" (from PIE root *wekw- "to speak"). From late 14c. as "call b
    lift
    c. 1200, "elevate in rank or dignity, exalt;" c. 1300, "to raise from the ground or other surface, pick up; erect, set in place," also intransitive, "to rise in waves;" early 14c., "remove (someone or something) from its place," from Old Norse lypta "to raise" (Scandinavian -pt-
    reverse
    c. 1300, "opposite, contrary in position or direction, turned backward," from Old French revers "reverse, cross, opposite" (13c.) and directly from Latin reversus, past participle of revertere "turn back, turn about, come back, return" (see revert). In reference to a gear mechani
    recall
    The meaning "to revoke, take back, countermand" is by 1580s....
    renege
    1540s, renegue, "deny, renounce, abandon" (archaic), from Medieval Latin renegare, from Latin re-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see re-), + negare "to refuse" (from PIE root *ne- "not"). The meaning "change one's mind, go back on (one's word or promise)" is by 1784. OED iden
    overturn
    early 13c., of a wheel, "to rotate, roll over," from over- + turn (v.). Attested from c. 1300 in general transitive sense "to throw over violently;" figurative meaning "to ruin, destroy" is from late 14c. Of judicial decisions, "to reverse," it is attested from 1826. Related: Ove
    discern
    "perceive or recognize the difference or distinction between (two or more things);" also "distinguish (an object) with the eyes, see distinctly, behold;" also "perceive rationally, understand;" late 14c., from Old French discerner (13c.) "distinguish (between), separate" (by sift
    rescind
    "abrogate, annul, or revoke by authority, repeal," 1630s, from French rescinder "cancel; cut off" (15c.), and directly from Latin rescindere "annul, cancel, abolish, remove by cutting off," from re- "back" (see re-) + scindere "to cut, rend, tear asunder, split; split up, part, d
    cancel
    late 14c., "cross out with lines, draw lines across (something written) so as to deface," from Anglo-French and Old French canceler, from Latin cancellare "to make like a lattice," which in Late Latin took on especially a sense "cross out something written" by marking it with cro
    bid
    probably an early Middle English mutual influence or confusion of two older words: The sense in bid farewell is from Old English biddan "to ask, entreat, beg, pray, beseech; order" (class V strong verb, past tense bæd, past participle beden), from Proto-Germanic *bedjanan "to pra

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