Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Ordain
Or-dain′
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Ordained
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Ordaining
.] 1.
To set in order; to arrange according to rule; to regulate; to set; to establish.
“Battle well ordained.” Spenser.
The stake that shall be
ordained
on either side. Chaucer.
2.
To regulate, or establish, by appointment, decree, or law; to constitute; to decree; to appoint; to institute.
Jeroboam
ordained
a feast in the eighth month. 1 Kings xii. 32.
And doth the power that man adores
Their doom ?
ordain
Their doom ?
Byron.
3.
To set apart for an office; to appoint.
Being
ordained
his special governor. Shakespeare
4.
(Eccl.)
To invest with ministerial or sacerdotal functions; to introduce into the office of the Christian ministry, by the laying on of hands, or other forms; to set apart by the ceremony of ordination.
Meletius was
ordained
by Arian bishops. Bp. Stillingfleet.
Webster 1828 Edition
Ordain
ORDA'IN
,Verb.
T.
1.
Properly, to set; to establish in a particular office or order; hence, to invest with a ministerial function or sacerdotal power; to introduce and establish or settle in the pastoral office with the customary forms and solemnities; as, to ordain a minister of the gospel. In America, men are ordained over a particular church and congregation, or as evangelists without the charge of a particular church, or as deacons in the episcopal church.2.
To appoint; to decree.Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month. 1Kings 12.
As many as were ordained to eternal life, believed.
Acts 13.
3.
To set; to establish; to institute; to constitute.Mulmutius ordained our laws.
4.
To set apart for an office; to appoint.Jesus ordained twelve that they should be with him. Mark 3.
5.
To appoint; to prepare.For Tophet is ordained of old. Is. 30.
Definition 2025
ordain
ordain
English
Verb
ordain (third-person singular simple present ordains, present participle ordaining, simple past and past participle ordained)
- To prearrange unalterably.
- To decree.
- To admit into the ministry of a religion, for example as a priest, bishop, minister or Buddhist monk, or to authorize as a rabbi.
- To predestine.
Conjugation
Conjugation of ordain
| infinitive | (to) ordain | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| present tense | past tense | |||
| 1st person singular | ordain | ordained | ||
| 2nd person singular | ordain, ordainest1 |
|||
| 3rd person singular | ordains, ordaineth1 |
|||
| plural | ordain | |||
| subjunctive | ordain | |||
| imperative | ordain | — | ||
| participles | ordaining | ordained | ||
| 1) Archaic or obsolete. | ||||
Synonyms
Translations
to prearrange unalterably
|
|
admit into the ministry of a religion