Com*mand"ment (?), n. [OF. commandement, F. commandement.]
1.
An order or injunction given by authority; a command; a charge; a precept; a mandate.
A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another.
John xiii. 34.
2. Script.
One of the ten laws or precepts given by God to the Israelites at Mount Sinai.
3.
The act of commanding; exercise of authority.
And therefore put I on the countenance
Of stern commandment.
Shak.
4. Law
The offense of commanding or inducing another to violate the law.
The Commandments, The Ten Commandments, the Decalogue, or summary of God's commands, given to Moses at Mount Sinai. (Ex. xx.)
© Webster 1913.