command (English)

Where does "command" come from?

The English noun 'command' descends through Middle English 'commanden' and Old French 'comander' from Late Latin 'commandāre'[1]. This Late Latin form arose as a variant of Latin 'commendāre'[4], combining the prefix 'com-' with 'mandāre' meaning 'to commit, intrust, or enjoin'[3]. The root ultimately connects to Latin elements involving 'manus' meaning 'hand'[6], tracing back through Proto-Italic and ultimately to Proto-Indo-European roots[7][9].

Open questions

• The derivation of Proto-Italic 'manus' is sometimes linked to Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂-, though alternative reconstructions have also been proposed. [7]

Full etymology tree

• command (English), 'An order to do something.'
  • inherited commanden (Middle English), 'alternative form of comaunden'
    • borrowed comander (Old French), 'to command, to implore'
      • inherited commandare (Latin), 'second-person singular present passive subjunctive of commandō'
        • derived commendare (Latin), 'inflection of commendō:'
          • prefix con- (Latin), 'Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects'
          • affix mando (Latin), 'to order, command, enjoin'
            • inherited *manuðō (Proto-Italic), 'to hand over'
              • compound *manus (Proto-Italic), 'hand'
              • compound *-ðō (Proto-Italic), 'to put'
                • derived *dʰéh₁t (Proto-Indo-European), 'to have put, to have placed'
                  • derived *dʰeh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to do'
        • influenced by mando (Latin), 'to order, command, enjoin'
          • inherited *manuðō (Proto-Italic), 'to hand over'
            • compound *manus (Proto-Italic), 'hand'
            • compound *-ðō (Proto-Italic), 'to put'
              • derived *dʰéh₁t (Proto-Indo-European), 'to have put, to have placed'
                • derived *dʰeh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to do'

Ancestors

• *(s)meh₂- (Proto-Indo-European)
• commanden (Middle English)
• comander (Old French)
• commando (Latin)
• commendo (Latin)

Cognates and doublets

• commend (English)

Descendants and derived words

• at command (English)
• c-command (English)
• c-command (English)
• command and control (English)
• command and service module (English)
• command hierarchy (English)
• commandless (English)
• commandlet (English)
• command line interface (English)
• command-line interface (English)
• command-line interpreter (English)
• command paper (English)

Related words

• power (English)

Sources

1. command (English) - Wiktionary
2. commando (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. commendo (Latin) - Wiktionary
4. comander (Old French) - Wiktionary
5. mando (Latin) - Wiktionary
6. manuðō (Proto-Italic) - Wiktionary
7. manus (Proto-Italic) - Wiktionary
8. -ðō (Proto-Italic) - Wiktionary
9. dʰéh₁t (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris