Mandate

Mandate

Noun / Verb · /ˈmæn.deɪt/

Definition

(Noun) an official order or commission to do something; the authority given to an elected body or representative to act on behalf of those who elected them; (Verb) to give an official order or make something mandatory.

Origin

From Latin mandatum (a charge, order, commission), from mandare (to commit to someone's charge), from manus (hand) + dare (to give). To mandate is literally to give into the hand of — to entrust. The political sense of an electoral mandate developed in the 19th and 20th centuries as democratic theory formalised the relationship between election results and governing authority.