Countermand

5 definitions found

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

  Countermand \Coun"ter*mand\ (koun"t[~e]r*m[.a]nd), n.
     A contrary order; revocation of a former order or command.
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           Have you no countermand for Claudio yet,
           But he must die to-morrow?               --Shak.


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

  Countermand \Coun`ter*mand"\ (koun`t[~e]r*m[.a]nd"), v. t. [imp.
     & p. p. {Countermanded}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Countermanding}.]
     [F. contremander; contre (L. contra) + mander to command, fr.
     L. mandare. Cf. {Mandate}.]
     1. To revoke (a former command); to cancel or rescind by
        giving an order contrary to one previously given; as, to
        countermand an order for goods.
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     2. To prohibit; to forbid. [Obs.]
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              Avicen countermands letting blood in choleric
              bodies.                               --Harvey.
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     3. To oppose; to revoke the command of.
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              For us to alter anything, is to lift ourselves
              against God; and, as it were, to countermand him.
                                                    --Hooker.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  countermand
       n : a contrary command cancelling or reversing a previous
           command
       v : annul by recalling or rescinding; "He revoked the ban on
           smoking"; "lift an embargo"; "vacate a death sentence"
           [syn: {revoke}, {annul}, {lift}, {reverse}, {repeal}, {overturn},
            {rescind}, {vacate}]

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

  94 Moby Thesaurus words for "countermand":
     abolish, abolishment, abolition, abrogate, abrogation, annul,
     annulment, baffle, balk, blast, brave, cancel, canceling,
     cancellation, cassation, challenge, checkmate, circumvent,
     confound, confront, contravene, counter, counteract, counterorder,
     counterwork, cross, dash, defeasance, defeat, defy, destroy,
     disannul, discomfit, disconcert, discountenance, dish, disrupt,
     do away with, elude, flummox, foil, frustrate, invalidate,
     invalidation, knock the chocks, make void, nonplus, nullification,
     nullify, override, overrule, perplex, recall, recant, recantation,
     renege, repeal, rescind, rescinding, rescindment, rescission,
     retract, retraction, reversal, reverse, revocation, revoke,
     revokement, ruin, sabotage, scotch, set aside, setting aside,
     spike, spoil, stonewall, stump, suspend, suspension, thwart, upset,
     vacate, vacation, vacatur, void, voidance, voiding, waive, waiver,
     waiving, withdraw, withdrawal, write off, write-off
  
  

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

  COUNTERMAND. This word signifies a. change or recall of orders previously 
  given. 
       2. It may be express or implied. Express, when contrary orders are 
  given and a revocation. of the former order is made. Implied, when a new 
  order is given which is inconsistent with the former order: as, if a man 
  should order a merchant to ship him in a particular vessel certain goods 
  which belonged to him, and then, before the goods were shipped, he directed 
  him to ship them in another vessel; this would be a countermand of the first 
  order. 
       3. While the first command is unrecalled, the person who gave it would 
  be liable to all the consequences in case he should be obeyed; but if, for 
  example, a man should command another to commit a crime and, before its 
  perpetration, he should repent and countermand it, he would not be liable 
  for the consequences if the crime should afterwards be committed. 
       4. When a command or order has been given, and property delivered, by 
  which a right vests in a third person, the party giving the order cannot 
  countermand it; for example, if a debtor should deliver to A a sum of money 
  to be paid to B, his creditor, B has a vested right in the money, and unless 
  he abandon that right, and refuse to take the money, the debtor cannot 
  recover it from A. 1 Roll. Ab. 32, pl. 13; Yelv. 164 Sty. 296. See 3 Co. 26 
  b.; 2 Vent. 298 10 Mod. 432; Vin. Ab. Countermand, A 1; Vin. Ab. Bailment, 
  D; 9 East, 49; Roll. Ab. 606; Bac. Ab. Bailment, D; Com. Dig. Attorney, B 9, 
  c. 8; Dane's Ab. h.t.; and Command.