. In the United States, a commission appointed by the President, consisting of three members, not more than two of whom may be adherents of the same party, which has the control, through examinations, of appointments and promotions in the classified civil service. It was created by act of Jan, 16, 1883 (22 Stat. 403). [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

v. i. [ L. commigrare, commigratum. ] To migrate together. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. commigratio. ] Migration together. [ R. ] Woodward. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. comminatio, from comminari to threaten; com- + minari to threaten: cf. F. commination. ] 1. A threat or threatening; a denunciation of punishment or vengeance. [ 1913 Webster ]

With terrible comminations to all them that did resist. Foxe. [ 1913 Webster ]

Those thunders of commination. I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An office in the liturgy of the Church of England, used on Ash Wednesday, containing a recital of God's anger and judgments against sinners. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. comminatoire. ] Threatening or denouncing punishment; as, comminatory terms. B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. [ imp. & p. p. Commingled p. pr. & vb. n. Commingling ] To mingle together; to mix in one mass, or intimately; to blend. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One that commingles; specif., a device for noiseless heating of water by steam, in a vessel filled with a porous mass, as of pebbles. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Comminuted; p. pr. & vb. n. Comminuting. ] [ L. comminutus, p. p. of comminuere to comminute; com- + minuere to lessen. See Minute. ] To reduce to minute particles, or to a fine powder; to pulverize; to triturate; to grind; as, to comminute chalk or bones; to comminute food with the teeth. Pennant. [ 1913 Webster ]

Comminuted fracture. See under Fracture. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of reducing to a fine powder or to small particles; pulverization; the state of being comminuted. Bentley. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Surg.) Fracture (of a bone) into a number of pieces. Dunglison. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Gradual diminution by the removal of small particles at a time; a lessening; a wearing away. [ 1913 Webster ]

Natural and necessary comminution of our lives. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pitiable. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Commiserated; p. pr. & vb. n. Commiserating. ] [ L. commiseratus, p. p. of commiserari to commiserate; com- + miserari to pity. See Miserable. ] To feel sorrow, pain, or regret for; to pity. [ 1913 Webster ]

Then must we those, who groan, beneath the weight
Of age, disease, or want, commiserate. Denham. [ 1913 Webster ]

We should commiserate our mutual ignorance. Locke.

Syn. -- To pity; compassionate; lament; condole. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. commisération, fr. L. commiseratio a part of an oration intended to excite compassion. ] The act of commiserating; sorrow for the wants, afflictions, or distresses of another; pity; compassion. [ 1913 Webster ]

And pluck commiseration of his state
From brassy bosoms and rough hearts of flint. Shak.

Syn. -- See Sympathy. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Feeling or expressing commiseration. Todd. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who pities. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to a commissary. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. commissariat. ] (Mil.) (a) The organized system by which armies and military posts are supplied with food and daily necessaries. (b) The body of officers charged with such service. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Commissaries [ LL. commissarius, fr. L. commissus, p. p. of committere to commit, intrust to. See Commit. ] 1. One to whom is committed some charge, duty, or office, by a superior power; a commissioner. [ 1913 Webster ]

Great Destiny, the Commissary of God. Donne. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Eccl.) An officer of the bishop, who exercises ecclesiastical jurisdiction in parts of the diocese at a distance from the residence of the bishop. Ayliffe. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Mil.) (a) An officer having charge of a special service; as, the commissary of musters. (b) An officer whose business is to provide food for a body of troops or a military post; -- officially called commissary of subsistence. [ U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Washington wrote to the President of Congress . . . urging the appointment of a commissary general, a quartermaster general, a commissary of musters, and a commissary of artillery. W. Irving [ 1913 Webster ]

Commissary general, an officer in charge of some special department of army service; as: (a) The officer in charge of the commissariat and transport department, or of the ordnance store department. [ Eng. ] (b) The commissary general of subsistence. [ U. S. ] --
Commissary general of subsistence (Mil. U. S.), the head of the subsistence department, who has charge of the purchase and issue of provisions for the army. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The office or employment of a commissary. Ayliffe. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., fr. L. commissio. See Commit. ] 1. The act of committing, doing, or performing; the act of perpetrating. [ 1913 Webster ]

Every commission of sin introduces into the soul a certain degree of hardness. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The act of intrusting; a charge; instructions as to how a trust shall be executed. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The duty or employment intrusted to any person or persons; a trust; a charge. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A formal written warrant or authority, granting certain powers or privileges and authorizing or commanding the performance of certain duties. [ 1913 Webster ]

Let him see our commission. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A certificate conferring military or naval rank and authority; as, a colonel's commission. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A company of persons joined in the performance of some duty or the execution of some trust; as, the interstate commerce commission. [ 1913 Webster ]

A commission was at once appointed to examine into the matter. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Com.) (a) The acting under authority of, or on account of, another. (b) The thing to be done as agent for another; as, I have three commissions for the city. (c) The brokerage or allowance made to a factor or agent for transacting business for another; as, a commission of ten per cent on sales. See Del credere. [ 1913 Webster ]

Commission of array. (Eng. Hist.) See under Array. --
Commission of bankruptcy, a commission appointing and empowering certain persons to examine into the facts relative to an alleged bankruptcy, and to secure the bankrupt's lands and effects for the creditors. --
Commission of lunacy, a commission authorizing an inquiry whether a person is a lunatic or not. --
Commission merchant, one who buys or sells goods on commission, as the agent of others, receiving a rate per cent as his compensation. --
Commission officer or
Commissioned officer, (Mil.), one who has a commission, in distinction from a noncommissioned or warrant officer. --
Commission of the peace, a commission under the great seal, constituting one or more persons justices of the peace. [ Eng. ] --
on commission, paid partly or completely by collecting as a commision a portion of the sales that one makes. --
out of commission, not operating properly; out of order. --
To put a vessel into commission (Naut.), to equip and man a government vessel, and send it out on service after it has been laid up; esp., the formal act of taking command of a vessel for service, hoisting the flag, reading the orders, etc. --
To put a vessel out of commission (Naut.), to detach the officers and crew and retire it from active service, temporarily or permanently. --
To put the great seal into commission or
To put the Treasury into commission, to place it in the hands of a commissioner or commissioners during the abeyance of the ordinary administration, as between the going out of one lord keeper and the accession of another. [ Eng. ] --
The United States Christian Commission, an organization among the people of the North, during the Civil War, which afforded material comforts to the Union soldiers, and performed services of a religious character in the field and in hospitals. --
The United States Sanitary Commission, an organization formed by the people of the North to cooperate with and supplement the medical department of the Union armies during the Civil War.

Syn. -- Charge; warrant; authority; mandate; office; trust; employment. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Commissioned p. pr & vb. n. Commissioning. ] 1. To give a commission to; to furnish with a commission; to empower or authorize; as, to commission persons to perform certain acts; to commission an officer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To send out with a charge or commission. [ 1913 Webster ]

A chosen band
He first commissions to the Latian land. Dryden.

Syn. -- To appoint; depute; authorize; empower; delegate; constitute; ordain.

n. [ F. commissionnaire. Cf. Commissioner. ] 1. One intrusted with a commission, now only a small commission, as an errand; esp., an attendant or subordinate employee in a public office, hotel, or the like. The commissionaire familiar to European travelers performs miscellaneous services as a light porter, messenger, solicitor for hotels, etc. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. One of a corps of pensioned soldiers, as in London, employed as doorkeepers, messengers, etc. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

3. a uniformed doorman. [ British ] [ WordNet 1.5 ]

{ a. Of, pertaining to, or conferring, a commission; conferred by a commission or warrant. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Delegate or commissionary authority. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To commission [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. (Mil.) holding by virtue of a commission a rank of second lieutenant or ensign or above; -- of military officers. Contrasts with noncommissioned. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. given official approval to act; as, commissioned broker.
Syn. -- accredited, licensed, licenced. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

3. created according to an order; as, a commissioned painting. [ PJC ]

n. 1. A person who has a commission or warrant to perform some office, or execute some business, for the government, corporation, or person employing him; as, a commissioner to take affidavits or to adjust claims. [ 1913 Webster ]

To another address which requested that a commission might be sent to examine into the state of things in Ireland, William returned a gracious answer, and desired the Commons to name the commissioners. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An officer having charge of some department or bureau of the public service. [ 1913 Webster ]

Herbert was first commissioner of the Admiralty. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

The commissioner of patents, the commissioner of the land office, the commissioner of Indian affairs, are subordinates of the secretary of the interior. Bartlett. [ 1913 Webster ]

Commissioner of deeds, an officer having authority to take affidavits, depositions, acknowledgment of deeds, etc., for use in the State by which he is appointed. [ U. S. ] --
County commissioners, certain administrative officers in some of the States, invested by local laws with various powers in reference to the roads, courthouses, financial matters, etc., of the county. [ U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., fr. L. commissio. ] 1. An agent or factor; a commission merchant. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One of a class of attendants, in some European cities, who perform miscellaneous services for travelers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The office of commissioner. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Relating to commission; of the nature of, or involving, commission. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to a commissure. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. commissura a joining together: cf. F. commissure. See Commit. ] 1. A joint, seam, or closure; the place where two bodies, or parts of a body, meet and unite; an interstice, cleft, or juncture. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Anat. & Zool.) (a) The point of union between two parts, as the angles of the lips or eyelids, the mandibles of a bird, etc. (b) A collection of fibers connecting parts of the brain or spinal marrow; a chiasma. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Bot.) The line of junction or cohering face of two carpels, as in the parsnip, caraway, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To sin; esp., to be incontinent. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Commit not with man's sworn spouse. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Committed; p. pr. & vb. n. Committing. ] [ L. committere, commissum, to connect, commit; com- + mittere to send. See Mission. ] 1. To give in trust; to put into charge or keeping; to intrust; to consign; -- used with to, unto. [ 1913 Webster ]

Commit thy way unto the Lord. Ps. xxxvii. 5. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bid him farewell, commit him to the grave. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To put in charge of a jailor; to imprison. [ 1913 Webster ]

These two were committed. Clarendon. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To do; to perpetrate, as a crime, sin, or fault. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou shalt not commit adultery. Ex. xx. 14. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To join for a contest; to match; -- followed by with. [ R. ] Dr. H. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To pledge or bind; to compromise, expose, or endanger by some decisive act or preliminary step; -- often used reflexively; as, to commit one's self to a certain course. [ 1913 Webster ]

You might have satisfied every duty of political friendship, without commiting the honor of your sovereign. Junius. [ 1913 Webster ]

Any sudden assent to the proposal . . . might possibly be considered as committing the faith of the United States. Marshall. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To confound. [ An obsolete Latinism. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Committing short and long [ quantities ]. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

To commit a bill (Legislation), to refer or intrust it to a committee or others, to be considered and reported. --
To commit to memory, or
To commit, to learn by heart; to memorize.

Syn. -- To Commit, Intrust, Consign. These words have in common the idea of transferring from one's self to the care and custody of another. Commit is the widest term, and may express only the general idea of delivering into the charge of another; as, to commit a lawsuit to the care of an attorney; or it may have the special sense of intrusting with or without limitations, as to a superior power, or to a careful servant, or of consigning, as to writing or paper, to the flames, or to prison. To intrust denotes the act of committing to the exercise of confidence or trust; as, to intrust a friend with the care of a child, or with a secret. To consign is a more formal act, and regards the thing transferred as placed chiefly or wholly out of one's immediate control; as, to consign a pupil to the charge of his instructor; to consign goods to an agent for sale; to consign a work to the press. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the trait of sincere and steadfast fixity of purpose.
Syn. -- commitment. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. The act of committing, or putting in charge, keeping, or trust; consignment; esp., the act of committing to prison. [ 1913 Webster ]

They were glad to compound for his bare commitment to the Tower, whence he was within few days enlarged. Clarendon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A warrant or order for the imprisonment of a person; -- more frequently termed a mittimus. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The act of referring or intrusting to a committee for consideration and report; as, the commitment of a petition or a bill. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A doing, or perpetration, in a bad sense, as of a crime or blunder; commission. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The act of pledging or engaging; the act of exposing, endangering, or compromising; also, the state of being pledged or engaged. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being committed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of committing, or the state of being committed; commitment. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. Bound or obligated, as under a pledge to a particular cause, action, or attitude. Opposite of uncommitted. [ Narrower terms: bound up, involved, wrapped up; dedicated, devoted; pledged, sworn ] [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. Associated in an exclusive sexual relationship; also called attached. Opposite of unattached. [ Narrower terms: affianced, bespoken, betrothed, engaged, pledged, promised(predicate); married ] [ Also See: loving. ]
Syn. -- attached. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

3. Consigned involuntarily to custody, as in a prison or mental institution. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ From Commit, v. t. ] (Law) One to whom the charge of the person or estate of another, as of a lunatic, is committed by suitable authority; a guardian. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. OF. comité company, and LL. comitatus jurisdiction or territory of a count, county, assize, army. The word was apparently influenced by the verb commit, but not directly formed from it. Cf. County. ] One or more persons elected or appointed, to whom any matter or business is referred, either by a legislative body, or by a court, or by any collective body of men acting together. [ 1913 Webster ]

Committee of the whole [ house ], a committee, embracing all the members present, into which a legislative or deliberative body sometimes resolves itself, for the purpose of considering a particular measure under the operation of different rules from those governing the general legislative proceedings. The committee of the whole has its own chairman, and reports its action in the form of recommendations. --
Standing committee. See under Standing. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A member of a committee. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who commits; one who does or perpetrates. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A fornicator. [ Obs. ] T. Decker. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being committed; liable to be committed. [ R. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. [ imp. & p. p. Commixed p. pr. & vb. n. Commixing. ] [ Pref. com- + mix: cf. L. commixtus, p. p. of commiscere. See Mix. ] To mix or mingle together; to blend. [ 1913 Webster ]

The commixed impressions of all the colors do stir up and beget a sensation of white. Sir I. Newton. [ 1913 Webster ]

To commix
With winds that sailors rail at. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Commix. ] Commixture. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. commixtio. ] Commixture; mingling. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

An exact commixtion of the ingredients. Boyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. commixtura. ] 1. The act or process of mixing; the state of being mingled; the blending of ingredients in one mass or compound. [ 1913 Webster ]

In the commixture of anything that is more oily or sweet, such bodies are least apt to putrefy. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The mass formed by mingling different things; a compound; a mixture. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To deprive of a commission or trust. [ R. ] Laud. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. incommiscibilis; pref. in- not + commiscibilis that can be mingled. ] Not commiscible; not mixable. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A state of being unmixed; separateness. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The governmental commision charged with making and enforcing regulations concerning interstate commerce. [ U. S. ] [ PJC ]