commission

Pronunciation: \kə-ˈmi-shən\

Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin commission-, commissio act of bringing together, from committere

Date: 14th century

1 a: a formal written warrant granting the power to perform various acts or duties b: a certificate conferring military rank and authority; 2 a: authority to act for, in behalf of, or in place of another b: a task or matter entrusted to one as an agent for another

4 a: a group of persons directed to perform some duty b: a government agency having administrative, legislative, or judicial powers

c: a city council having legislative and executive functions5: an act of committing something <commission of a crime>6: a fee paid to an agent or employee for transacting a piece of business or performing a service; especially : a percentage of the money received from a total paid to the agent responsible for the business7: an act of entrusting or giving authority

• — in commission or into commission • 1: under the authority of commissioners2of a ship : ready for active

service3: in use or in condition for use• — on commission • : with commission serving as partial or full pay for work done• — out of commission • 1: out of active service or use2: out of working order

• concur• Pronunciation: \kən-ˈkər, kän-\ • Function: intransitive verb • Inflected Form(s): con·curred; con·cur·ring • Etymology: Middle English concurren, from Latin concurrere, from com- +

currere to run — more at car • Date: 15th century • 1: to act together to a common end or single effect2 a: approve <concur in

a statement> b: to express agreement <concur with an opinion>3obsolete : to come together : meet4: to happen together : coincide

• synonyms see agree

• corpuscle• Pronunciation: \ˈkor-(ˌ)pə-səl\ • Function: noun • Etymology: Latin corpusculum, diminutive of corpus Date: 1660 • 1: a minute particle2 a: a living cell; especially : one (as a red or white blood

cell or a cell in cartilage or bone) not aggregated into continuous tissues b: any of various small circumscribed multicellular bodies

• — cor·pus·cu·lar \kor-ˈpəs-kyə-lər\ adjective

• magma• Pronunciation: \ˈmag-mə\ • Function: noun • Etymology: Middle English, from Latin magmat-, magma, from Greek, thick

unguent, from massein to knead — more at mingle Date: 15th century

• 1archaic : dregs, sediment2: a thin pasty suspension (as of a precipitate in water)3: molten rock material within the earth from which igneous rock

results by cooling — mag·mat·ic \mag-ˈma-tik\ adjective

• remorse• Pronunciation: \ri-ˈmors\ • Function: noun • Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French remors, from Medieval Latin

remorsus, from Late Latin, act of biting again, from Latin remordēre to bite again, from re- + mordēre to bite — more at mordant Date: 14th century

• 1: a gnawing distress arising from a sense of guilt for past wrongs : self-reproach2obsolete : compassion

• synonyms see penitence

• renaissance

• Pronunciation: \ˌre-nə-ˈsän(t)s, -ˈnoun • Usage: often attributive • Etymology: French, from Middle French, rebirth, from Old French

renaistre to be born again, from Latin renasci, from re- + nasci to be born — more at nation Date: 1845

• 1capitalized a: the transitional movement in Europe between medieval and modern times beginning in the 14th century in Italy, lasting into the 17th century, and marked by a humanistic revival of classical influence expressed in a flowering of the arts and literature and by the beginnings of modern science b: the period of the Renaissance c: the neoclassic style of architecture prevailing during the Renaissance2often capitalized : a movement or period of vigorous artistic and intellectual activity3: rebirth, revival

• silage Pronunciation: \ˈsī-lij\

• Function: noun • Etymology: short for ensilage Date: 1884 • : fodder converted into succulent feed for livestock through processes of

anaerobic acid fermentation (as in a silo) • fodder

Pronunciation \ˈfä-dər\ • Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English fōdor; akin to

Old High German fuotar food — more at food • Date: before 12th century • 1: something fed to domestic animals; especially : coarse food for cattle,

horses, or sheep2: inferior or readily available material used to supply a heavy demand

• spontaneous• Pronunciation: \spän-ˈtā-nē-əs\ • Function: adjective • Etymology: Late Latin spontaneus, from Latin sponte of one's free will,

voluntarily • Date: 1653 • 1 : proceeding from natural feeling or native tendency without external

constraint 2 : arising from a momentary impulse 3 : controlled and directed internally : self-acting <spontaneous movement characteristic of living things> 4 : produced without being planted or without human labor : indigenous 5 : developing or occurring without apparent external influence, force, cause, or treatment 6 : not apparently contrived or manipulated : natural

• — spon·ta·ne·ous·ly adverb • — spon·ta·ne·ous·ness noun • synonyms spontaneous, impulsive, instinctive, automatic, mechanical

mean acting or activated without deliberation. spontaneous implies lack of prompting and connotes naturalness <a spontaneous burst of applause>. impulsive implies acting under stress of emotion or spirit of the moment <impulsive acts of violence>. instinctive stresses action involving neither judgment nor will <blinking is an instinctive reaction>. automatic implies action engaging neither the mind nor the emotions and connotes a predictable response <his denial was automatic>. mechanical stresses the lifeless, often perfunctory character of the response <a mechanical teaching method>.

• combustion• Pronunciation: \kəm-ˈbəs-chən\ • Function: noun Date: 15th century • 1: an act or instance of burning2: a usually rapid chemical process (as

oxidation) that produces heat and usually light; also : a slower oxidation (as in the body)3: violent agitation : tumult

• — com·bus·tive \-ˈbəs-tiv\ adjective

• edify• Pronunciation: \ˈe-də-ˌfī\ • Function: transitive verb • Inflected Form(s): ed·i·fied; ed·i·fy·ing • Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French edifier, from Late Latin &

Latin; Late Latin aedificare to instruct or improve spiritually, from Latin, to erect a house, from aedes temple, house; akin to Old English ād funeral pyre, Latin aestas summer Date: 14th c

• 1archaic a: build b: establish2: to instruct and improve especially in moral

and religious knowledge : uplift; also : enlighten, informedification

Pronunciation: \ˌe-də-fə-ˈkā-shən\

Function: noun Date: 14th century

: an act or process of edifying