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Webster 1913 Edition

Warrant

War′rant

,
Noun.
[OE.
warant
, OF.
warant
a warrant, a defender, protector, F.
garant
, originally a p. pr. of German origin, fr. OHG.
werēn
to grant, warrant, G. ge
währen
; akin to OFries.
wera
. Cf.
Guarantee
.]
1.
That which warrants or authorizes; a commission giving authority, or justifying the doing of anything; an act, instrument, or obligation, by which one person authorizes another to do something which he has not otherwise a right to do; an act or instrument investing one with a right or authority, and thus securing him from loss or damage; commission; authority.
Specifically: –
(a)
A writing which authorizes a person to receive money or other thing.
(b)
(Law)
A precept issued by a magistrate authorizing an officer to make an arrest, a seizure, or a search, or do other acts incident to the administration of justice.
(c)
(Mil. & Nav.)
An official certificate of appointment issued to an officer of lower rank than a commissioned officer. See
Warrant officer
, below.
2.
That which vouches or insures for anything; guaranty; security.
I give thee
warrant
of thy place.
Shakespeare
His worth is
warrant
for his welcome hither.
Shakespeare
3.
That which attests or proves; a voucher.
4.
Right; legality; allowance.
[Obs.]
Shak.
Bench warrant
.
(Law)
See in the Vocabulary.
–
Dock warrant
(Com.)
,
a customhouse license or authority.
–
General warrant
.
(Law)
See under
General
.
–
Land warrant
.
See under
Land
.
–
Search warrant
.
(Law)
See under
Search
,
Noun.
–
Warrant of attorney
(Law)
,
written authority given by one person to another empowering him to transact business for him; specifically, written authority given by a client to his attorney to appear for him in court, and to suffer judgment to pass against him by confession in favor of some specified person.
Bouvier.
–
Warrant officer
,
a noncommissioned officer, as a sergeant, corporal, bandmaster, etc., in the army, or a quartermaster, gunner, boatswain, etc., in the navy.
–
Warrant to sue and defend
.
(a)
(O. Eng. Law)
A special warrant from the crown, authorizing a party to appoint an attorney to sue or defend for him.
(b)
A special authority given by a party to his attorney to commence a suit, or to appear and defend a suit in his behalf. This warrant is now disused.
Burrill.

War′rant

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Warranted
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Warranting
.]
[OE.
waranten
, OF.
warantir
,
garantir
,
guarantir
,
garentir
,
garandir
, F.
garantir
to warrant, fr. OF.
warant
,
garant
,
guarant
, a warrant, a protector, a defender, F.
garant
. √142. See
Warrant
,
Noun.
]
1.
To make secure; to give assurance against harm; to guarantee safety to; to give authority or power to do, or forbear to do, anything by which the person authorized is secured, or saved harmless, from any loss or damage by his action.
That show I first my body to
warrant
.
Chaucer.
I’ll
warrant
him from drowning.
Shakespeare
In a place
Less
warranted
than this, or less secure,
I can not be.
Milton.
2.
To support by authority or proof; to justify; to maintain; to sanction;
as, reason
warrants
it
.
True fortitude is seen in great exploits,
That justice
warrants
, and that wisdom guides.
Addison.
How little while it is since he went forth out of his study, – chewing a Hebrew text of Scripture in his mouth, I
warrant
.
Hawthorne.
3.
To give a warrant or warranty to; to assure as if by giving a warrant to.
[My neck is] as smooth as silk, I
warrant
ye.
L' Estrange.
4.
(Law)
(a)
To secure to, as a grantee, an estate granted; to assure.
(b)
To secure to, as a purchaser of goods, the title to the same; to indemnify against loss.
(c)
To secure to, as a purchaser, the quality or quantity of the goods sold, as represented. See
Warranty
,
Noun.
, 2.
(d)
To assure, as a thing sold, to the purchaser; that is, to engage that the thing is what it appears, or is represented, to be, which implies a covenant to make good any defect or loss incurred by it.

Webster 1828 Edition

Warrant

WARRANT

,
Verb.
T.
[The primary sense of the root is to stop or hold, or to repel, and thus guard by resisting danger; as we say, to keep off. Hence the sense of security. See Guard and Garrison.]
1.
To authorize; to give authority or power to do or forbear any thing, by which the person authorized is secured or saved harmless from any loss or damage by the act. A commission warrants an officer to seize an enemy. We are not warranted to resist legitimate government. Except in extreme cases.
2.
To maintain; to support by authority or proof.
Reason warrants it, and we may safely receive it as true.
3.
To justify.
True fortitude is seen in great exploits, that justice warrants, and that wisdom guides.
4.
To secure; to exempt; to privilege..
Ill warrant him from drowning.
In a place less warranted than this, or less secure, I cannot be--
5.
To declare with assurance.
My neck is as smooth as silk, I warrant ye.
6.
In law, to secure to a grantee an estate granted; to assure.
7.
To secure to a purchaser of goods the title to the same; or to indemnify him against loss.
8.
To secure to a purchaser the good quality of the goods sold. [See Warranty.]
9.
To assure that a thing is what it appears to be, which implies a covenant to make good any defect or loss incurred by it.

WARRANT

,
Noun.
1.
An act, instrument or obligation, by which one person authorizes another to do something which he has not otherwise a right to do; an act or instrument investing one with a right or authority, and thus securing him from loss or damage; a word of general application.
2.
A precept authorizing an officer to seize an offender and bring him to justice. A general warrant to seize suspected persons, is illegal.
3.
Authority; power that authorizes or justifies any act. Those who preach the gospel have the warrant of Scripture. We have the warrant of natural right to do what the laws do not forbid; but civility and propriety may sometimes render things improper, which natural right warrants.
4.
A commission that gives authority, or that justifies.
5.
A voucher; that which attests or proves.
6.
Right; legality.
Theres warrant in that theft which steals itself when theres no mercy left.
7.
A writing which authorizes a person to receive money or other thing.
Warrant of attorney, that by which a man appoints another to act in his name, and warrants his transaction.
Land warrant, is an instrument or writing issued by the proper officer, authorizing a person to locate or take up a tract of new or uncultivated land.
Search warrant, a precept authorizing a person to enter houses, shops, &c. to search for a criminal, for stolen or smuggled goods.
Warrant officer, an officer holding a warrant from the navy board, such as the master, surgeon, purser, &c. of a ship.

Definition 2024

warrant

warrant

English

Alternative forms

Noun

warrant ‎(plural warrants)

  1. (obsolete) A protector or defender.
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter ij, in Le Morte Darthur, book X:
      And whanne I sawe her makynge suche dole / I asked her who slewe her lorde ¶ Syre she said the falsest knyght of the world now lyuyng […] / and his name is sir Breuse saunce pyte / thenne for pyte I made the damoysel to lepe on her palfroy / and I promysed her to be her waraunt / and to helpe her to entyere her lord
  2. Authorization or certification; sanction, as given by a superior.
  3. Something that provides assurance or confirmation; a guarantee or proof: a warrant of authenticity; a warrant for success.
    • Garry Wills:
      He almost gives his failings as a warrant for his greatness.
  4. An order that serves as authorization, especially: A voucher authorizing payment or receipt of money.
  5. (law) A judicial writ authorizing an officer to make a search, seizure, or arrest or to execute a judgment.
    an arrest warrant issued by Thai supreme court‎
  6. A warrant officer.
    1. A certificate of appointment given to a warrant officer.
  7. (finance) An option, usually with a term at issue greater than a year, usually issued together with another security, to buy other securities of the issuer.
  8. (New Zealand) A Warrant of Fitness; a document certifying that a motor vehicle meets certain standards of safety and mechanical soundness.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Anglo-Norman warantir, warandir, Old Northern French warantir, warandir (= Old French guarantir > French garantir), a Romance formation from the noun, Etymology 1, above.

Verb

warrant ‎(third-person singular simple present warrants, present participle warranting, simple past and past participle warranted)

  1. (obsolete, transitive) To protect, keep safe (from danger).
  2. (transitive) To guarantee (something) to be (of a specified quality, value etc.).
    • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick:
      His pure tight skin was an excellent fit; and closely wrapped up in it, and embalmed with inner health and strength, like a revivified Egyptian, this Starbuck seemed prepared to endure for long ages to come, and to endure always, as now; for be it Polar snow or torrid sun, like a patent chronometer, his interior vitality was warranted to do well in all climates.
    • 1915, Mrs. Belloc Lowndes, The Lodger, chapter I:
      Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; […].
  3. (transitive) To guarantee as being true; (colloquially) to believe strongly.
    That tree is going to fall, I'll warrant.‎
  4. (obsolete, transitive) To give (someone) a guarantee or assurance (of something); also, with double object, to guarantee (someone something).
    • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, II.ii.1.1:
      Crato, in a consultation of his for a noble patient, tells him plainly, that if his highness will keep but a good diet, he will warrant him his former health.
  5. (transitive) To authorize; to give (someone) warrant or sanction (to do something).
    I am warranted to search these premises fully.‎
  6. (transitive) To justify; to give grounds for.
    Circumstances arose that warranted the use of lethal force.‎
Translations

Italian

Etymology

Borrowing from English warrant.

Noun

warrant m ‎(invariable)

  1. warrant (document or certificate)

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman warrant, Old Northern French warant, warand (= Old French guarant > French garant), present participle of a Romance verb from Frankish *warjan.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈwɒɹənt/

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