Commutation

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Commutation \Com`mu*ta"tion\, n. [L. commutatio: cf. F.
     commutation.]
     1. A passing from one state to another; change; alteration;
        mutation. [R.]
        [1913 Webster]
  


              So great is the commutation that the soul then hated
              only that which now only it loves.    --South.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. The act of giving one thing for another; barter; exchange.
        [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The use of money is . . . that of saving the
              commutation of more bulky commodities. --Arbuthnot.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Law) The change of a penalty or punishment by the
        pardoning power of the State; as, the commutation of a
        sentence of death to banishment or imprisonment.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Suits are allowable in the spiritual courts for
              money agreed to be given as a commutation for
              penance.                              --Blackstone.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. A substitution, as of a less thing for a greater, esp. a
        substitution of one form of payment for another, or one
        payment for many, or a specific sum of money for
        conditional payments or allowances; as, commutation of
        tithes; commutation of fares; commutation of copyright;
        commutation of rations.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. regular travel from a place of residence to a place where
        one's daily work is performed; commuting. Most often, such
        travel is performed between a suburb and a nearby city.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Angle of commutation} (Astron.), the difference of the
        geocentric longitudes of the sun and a planet.
  
     {Commutation of tithes}, the substitution of a regular
        payment, chargeable to the land, for the annual tithes in
        kind.
  
     {Commutation ticket}, a ticket, as for transportation, which
        is the evidence of a contract for service at a reduced
        rate. See 2d {Commute}, 2.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  commutation
       n 1: the travel of a commuter [syn: {commuting}]
       2: a warrant substituting a lesser punishment for a greater one
       3: (law) the reduction in severity of a punishment imposed by
          law [syn: {re-sentencing}]
       4: the act of putting one thing or person in the place of
          another: "he sent Smith in for Jones but the substitution
          came too late to help" [syn: {substitution}, {exchange}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  82 Moby Thesaurus words for "commutation":
     agency, alternation, amends, atonement, balancing,
     battledore and shuttlecock, change, compensation, cooperation,
     counteraction, counterbalancing, counterchange, course, cross fire,
     crossing, delegation, deputation, deputyship, displacement,
     exchange, expiation, give-and-take, globe-trotting, going,
     indemnification, indemnity, interchange, intermutation, interplay,
     journeying, lex talionis, locomotion, measure for measure, motion,
     movement, moving, mutual admiration, mutual support,
     mutual transfer, mutuality, offsetting, passage, permutation,
     power of attorney, progress, quid pro quo, reciprocality,
     reciprocation, reciprocity, recompense, rectification, redress,
     reparation, repayment, replacement, representation, restitution,
     retaliation, revenge, satisfaction, something for something,
     subrogation, substitution, supersedence, superseding, supersedure,
     supersession, supplantation, supplanting, supplantment, switch,
     tit for tat, tourism, touristry, traject, trajet, transit,
     transposal, transposition, travel, traveling, vicariousness
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  COMMUTATION, punishments. The change of a punishment to which a person has 
  been condemned into a less severe one. This can be granted only by the 
  executive authority in which the pardoning power resides.