Chapter 57

2. A brief account of transactions or events written hastily, as if for a memorandum; -- usually in the plural; as, Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War.

Com"men*tate (?), v. t. & i. [L. commentatus, p. p. of commentari to meditate.] To write comments or notes upon; to make comments. [R.]

Commentate upon it, and return it enriched. Lamb.

Com`men*ta"tion (?), n. 1. The act or process of commenting or criticising; exposition. [R.]

The spirit of commentation. Whewell.

2. The result of the labors of a commentator.

Com"men*ta`tor (?), n. [L. commentator: cf. F. commentateur.] One who writes a commentary or comments; an expositor; an annotator.

The commentator's professed object is to explain, to enforce, to illustrate doctrines claimed as true. Whewell.

Com`men*ta*to"ri*al (? or ?), a. Pertaining to the making of commentaries. Whewell.

Com"men*ta`tor*ship (?), n. The office or occupation of a commentator.

Com"ment`er (?), n. One who makes or writes comments; a commentator; an annotator.

Com`men*ti"tious (?), a. [L. commentitius.] Fictitious or imaginary; unreal; as, a commentitious system of religion. [Obs.] Warburton.

Com"merce (?), n. (Formerly accented on the second syllable.) [F. commerce, L. commercium; com- + merx, mercis, merchandise. See Merchant.] 1. The exchange or buying and selling of commodities; esp. the exchange of merchandise, on a large scale, between different places or communities; extended trade or traffic.

The public becomes powerful in proportion to the opulence and extensive commerce of private men. Hume.

2. Social intercourse; the dealings of one person or class in society with another; familiarity.

Fifteen years of thought, observation, and commerce with the world had made him [Bunyan] wiser. Macaulay.

3. Sexual intercourse. W. Montagu.

4. A round game at cards, in which the cards are subject to exchange, barter, or trade. Hoyle.

Chamber of commerce. See Chamber.

Syn. -- Trade; traffic; dealings; intercourse; interchange; communion; communication.

Com*merce" (? or ?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Commerced (#); p>. pr. & vb. n. Commercing.] [Cf. F. commercer, fr. LL. commerciare.] 1. To carry on trade; to traffic. [Obs.]

Beware you commerce not with bankrupts. B. Jonson.

2. To hold intercourse; to commune. Milton.

Commercing with himself. Tennyson.

Musicians . . . taught the people in angelic harmonies to commerce with heaven. Prof. Wilson.

Com*mer"cial (?), a. [Cf. F. commercial.] Of or pertaining to commerce; carrying on or occupied with commerce or trade; mercantile; as, commercial advantages; commercial relations. "Princely commercial houses." Macaulay.

Commercial college, a school for giving instruction in commercial knowledge and business. -- Commercial law. See under Law. -- Commercial note paper, a small size of writing paper, usually about 5 by 7Ż or 8 inches. -- Commercial paper, negotiable paper given in due course of business. It includes bills of exchange, promissory notes, bank checks, etc. -- Commercial traveler, an agent of a wholesale house who travels from town to town to solicit orders.

Syn. -- See Mercantile.

Com*mer"cial*ism (?), n. The commercial spirit or method. C. Kingsley.

Com*mer"cial*ly, adv. In a commercial manner.

Com"mi*grate (?), v. i. [L. commigrare, commigratum.] To migrate together. [R.]

Com`mi*gra"tion (?), n. [L. commigratio.] Migration together. [R.] Woodward.

Com`mi*na"tion (?), 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.

With terrible comminations to all them that did resist. Foxe.

Those thunders of commination. I. Taylor.

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.

Com*min"a*to"ry (?), a. [Cf. F. comminatoire.] Threatening or denouncing punishment; as, comminatory terms. B. Jonson.

Com*min"gle (?), 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.

Com"mi*nute (?), 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.

Comminuted fracture. See under Fracture.

Com`mi*nu"tion (?), n. 1. The act of reducing to a fine powder or to small particles; pulverization; the state of being comminuted. Bentley.

2. (Surg.) Fracture (of a bone) into a number of pieces. Dunglison.

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

Natural and necessary comminution of our lives. Johnson.

Com*mis"er*a*ble (?), a. Pitiable. [Obs.] Bacon.

Com*mis"er*ate (?), 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.

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

We should commiserate our mutual ignorance. Locke.

Syn. -- To pity; compassionate; lament; condole.

Com*mis`er*a"tion (?), n. [F. commisÚration, 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.

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

Syn. -- See Sympathy.

Com*mis"er*a*tive (?), a. Feeling or expressing commiseration. Todd.

Com*mis"er*a`tor (?), n. One who pities.

Com`mis*sa"ri*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to a commissary.

Com`mis*sa"ri*at (?; 277), 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.

Com"mis*sa*ry (?), 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.

Great Destiny, the Commissary of God. Donne.

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.

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.]

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

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.

Com"mis*sa*ry*ship (?), n. The office or employment of a commissary. Ayliffe.

Com*mis"sion (?), n. [F., fr. L. commissio. See Commit.] 1. The act of committing, doing, or performing; the act of perpetrating.

Every commission of sin introduces into the soul a certain degree of hardness. South.

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

3. The duty or employment intrusted to any person or persons; a trust; a charge.

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

Let him see our commission. Shak.

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

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

A commission was at once appointed to examine into the matter. Prescott.

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.

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, 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.] -- 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, or 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 co÷perate with and supplement the medical department of the Union armies during the Civil War.

Syn. -- Charge; warrant; authority; mandate; office; trust; employment.

Com*mis"sion (?), 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.

2. To send out with a charge or commission.

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

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

{ Com*mis"sion*al (?), Com*mis"sion*a*ry (?) } a. Of, pertaining to, or conferring, a commission; conferred by a commission or warrant. [R.]

Delegate or commissionary authority. Bp. Hall.

Com*mis"sion*ate (?), v. t. To commission [Obs.]

Com*mis"sion*er (?), 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.

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.

2. An officer having charge of some department or bureau of the public service.

Herbert was first commissioner of the Admiralty. Macaulay.

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

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.]

||Com*mis`sion*naire" (?; F. ?), n. [F., fr. L. commissio.] 1. An agent or factor; a commission merchant.

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

Com*mis"sion*ship (?), n. The office of commissioner. Sir W. Scott.

Com*mis"sive (?), a. Relating to commission; of the nature of, or involving, commission. [R.]

Com*mis"su*ral (? or ?), a. Of or pertaining to a commissure.

Com*mis"sure (? or ?; 134-6), 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.

2. (Anat. & Zo÷l.) (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.

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

Com*mit" (?), 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.

Commit thy way unto the Lord. Ps. xxxvii. 5.

Bid him farewell, commit him to the grave. Shak.

2. To put in charge of a jailor; to imprison.

These two were committed. Clarendon.

3. To do; to perpetrate, as a crime, sin, or fault.

Thou shalt not commit adultery. Ex. xx. 14.

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

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.

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

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

6. To confound. [An obsolete Latinism.]

Committing short and long [quantities]. Milton.

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.

Com"mit, v. i. To sin; esp., to be incontinent. [Obs.]

Commit not with man's sworn spouse. Shak.

Com*mit"ment (?), n. 1. The act of committing, or putting in charge, keeping, or trust; consignment; esp., the act of committing to prison.

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

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

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

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

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

Com*mit"ta*ble (?), a. Capable of being committed.

Com*mit"tal (?), n. The act of committing, or the state of being committed; commitment.

Com*mit"tee (?), n. [Cf. OF. comitÚ 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.

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.

Com`mit*tee" (?), 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.

Com*mit"tee*man (?), n. A member of a committee.

Com*mit"ter (?), n. 1. One who commits; one who does or perpetrates. South.

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

Com*mit"ti*ble (?), a. Capable of being committed; liable to be committed. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

Com*mix" (?), 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.

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

To commix With winds that sailors rail at. Shak.

Com*mix"ion (?), n. [See Commix.] Commixture. Shak.

Com*mix"tion (?; 106), n. [L. commixtio.] Commixture; mingling. [R.]

An exact commixtion of the ingredients. Boyle.

Com*mix"ture (?; 135), n. [L. commixtura.] 1. The act or process of mixing; the state of being mingled; the blending of ingredients in one mass or compound.

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

2. The mass formed by mingling different things; a compound; a mixture. Bacon.

Com"mo*date (?), n. [L. commodatum thing lent, loan.] (Scots Law) A gratuitous loan.

Com*mode" (?), n. [F. commode, fr. commode convenient, L. commodus; com- + modus measure, mode. See Mode.] 1. A kind of headdress formerly worn by ladies, raising the hair and fore part of the cap to a great height.

Or under high commodes, with looks erect. Granville.

2. A piece of furniture, so named according to temporary fashion; as: (a) A chest of drawers or a bureau. (b) A night stand with a compartment for holding a chamber vessel. (c) A kind of close stool. (d) A movable sink or stand for a wash bowl, with closet.

Com*mo"di*ous (?), a. [LL. commodiosus, fr. L. commodum convenience, fr. commodus. See Commode.] Adapted to its use or purpose, or to wants and necessities; serviceable; spacious and convenient; roomy and comfortable; as, a commodious house. "A commodious drab." Shak. "Commodious gold." Pope.

The haven was not commodious to winter in. Acts xxvii. 12.

Syn. -- Convenient; suitable; fit; proper; advantageous; serviceable; useful; spacious; comfortable.

Com*mo"di*ous*ly, adv. In a commodious manner.

To pass commodiously this life. Milton.

Com*mo"di*ous*ness, n. State of being commodious; suitableness for its purpose; convenience; roominess.

Of cities, the greatness and riches increase according to the commodiousness of their situation. Sir W. Temple.

The commodiousness of the harbor. Johnson.

Com*mod"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Commodities (#). [F. commoditÚ, fr. L. commoditas. See Commode.] 1. Convenience; accommodation; profit; benefit; advantage; interest; commodiousness. [Obs.]

Drawn by the commodity of a footpath. B. Jonson.

Men may seek their own commodity, yet if this were done with injury to others, it was not to be suffered. Hooker.

2. That which affords convenience, advantage, or profit, especially in commerce, including everything movable that is bought and sold (except animals), -- goods, wares, merchandise, produce of land and manufactures, etc.

3. A parcel or quantity of goods. [Obs.]

A commodity of brown paper and old ginger. Shak.

Com"mo*dore` (?), n. [Prob. a corruption of commander, or Sp. comendador a knight of a military order who holds a commandery; also a superior of a monastery, fr. LL. commendare to command. Cf. Commend, Command, Commander.] 1. (U. S. Navy) An officer who ranks next above a captain; sometimes, by courtesy, the senior captain of a squadron. The rank of commodore corresponds with that of brigadier general in the army.

2. (British Navy) A captain commanding a squadron, or a division of a fleet, or having the temporary rank of rear admiral.

3. A title given by courtesy to the senior captain of a line of merchant vessels, and also to the chief officer of a yachting or rowing club.

4. A familiar for the flagship, or for the principal vessel of a squadron or fleet.

Com"mon (?), a. [Compar. Commoner (?); superl. Commonest.] [OE. commun, comon, OF. comun, F. commun, fr. L. communis; com- + munis ready to be of service; cf. Skr. mi to make fast, set up, build, Goth. gamains common, G. gemein, and E. mean low, common. Cf. Immunity, Commune, n. & v.] 1. Belonging or relating equally, or similarly, to more than one; as, you and I have a common interest in the property.

Though life and sense be common to men and brutes. Sir M. Hale.

2. Belonging to or shared by, affecting or serving, all the members of a class, considered together; general; public; as, properties common to all plants; the common schools; the Book of Common Prayer.

Such actions as the common good requireth. Hooker.

The common enemy of man. Shak.

3. Often met with; usual; frequent; customary.

Grief more than common grief. Shak.

4. Not distinguished or exceptional; inconspicuous; ordinary; plebeian; -- often in a depreciatory sense.

The honest, heart-felt enjoyment of common life. W. Irving.

This fact was infamous And ill beseeming any common man, Much more a knight, a captain and a leader. Shak.

Above the vulgar flight of common souls. A. Murphy.

5. Profane; polluted. [Obs.]

What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. Acts x. 15.

6. Given to habits of lewdness; prostitute.

A dame who herself was common. L'Estrange.