Commission \Com*mis"sion\, n. [F., fr. L. commissio. See
{Commit}.]
1. The act of committing, doing, or performing; the act of
perpetrating.
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Every commission of sin introduces into the soul a
certain degree of hardness. --South.
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2. The act of intrusting; a charge; instructions as to how a
trust shall be executed.
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3. The duty or employment intrusted to any person or persons;
a trust; a charge.
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4. A formal written warrant or authority, granting certain
powers or privileges and authorizing or commanding the
performance of certain duties.
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Let him see our commission. --Shak.
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5. A certificate conferring military or naval rank and
authority; as, a colonel's commission.
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6. A company of persons joined in the performance of some
duty or the execution of some trust; as, the interstate
commerce commission.
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A commission was at once appointed to examine into
the matter. --Prescott.
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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}.
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{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.
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