Errand

3 definitions found

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

  Errand \Er"rand\, n. [OE. erende, erande, message, business, AS.
     [ae]rende, [ae]rend; akin to OS. arundi, OHG. arunti, Icel.
     eyrendi, ["o]rendi, erendi, Sw. [aum]rende, Dan. [ae]rende;
     perh. akin to AS. earu swift, Icel. ["o]rr, and to L. oriri
     to rise, E. orient.]
     A special business intrusted to a messenger; something to be


     told or done by one sent somewhere for the purpose; often, a
     verbal message; a commission; as, the servant was sent on an
     errand; to do an errand. Also, one's purpose in going
     anywhere.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           I have a secret errand to thee, O king.  --Judg. iii.
                                                    19.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           I will not eat till I have told mine errand. --Gen.
                                                    xxiv. 33.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Any specific task, usually of a routine nature, requiring
        some form of travel, usually locally. An errand is often
        on behalf of someone else, but sometimes for one's own
        purposes.
        [PJC]
  
     3. A {mission}.
        [PJC]
  
     {To run an errand}, To perform an errand[2].
        [PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  errand
       n : a short trip that is taken in the performance of a necessary
           task or mission

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

  68 Moby Thesaurus words for "errand":
     agency, agentship, assignment, authority, authorization, brevet,
     busywork, care, chare, charge, chore, commission, commissioning,
     commitment, consignment, cure, delegated authority, delegation,
     deputation, devolution, devolvement, duty, embassy, empowerment,
     entrusting, entrustment, executorship, exequatur, exercise,
     factorship, fish to fry, full power, homework, job, job of work,
     journey, jurisdiction, labor, legation, license, lieutenancy,
     make-work, mandate, matters in hand, mission, odd job, office,
     piece of work, plenipotentiary power, power of attorney,
     power to act, procuration, project, proxy, purview, regency,
     regentship, responsibility, service, stint, task, things to do,
     trip, trust, trusteeship, vicarious authority, warrant, work