mandamus
/mænˈdeɪməs/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.01 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A common law prerogative writ that compels a court or government officer to perform mandatory or purely ministerial duties correctly.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "I admit to all my learned friends that a Mandamus does not issue where there is another course of proceeding by which the thing can be effected; but I again state to your Lordships, that if in this case a Mandamus must not issue, there is no other proceeding that can be adopted."
- "And then it was moved that the court would grant a mandamus to the delegates to admit the bishop's allegations: and it was compared to the cases where they grant mandamuses to compel the granting of probates of wills or letters of administration."
- "A mandamus is a writ commanding the execution of an act, where otherwise justice would be obstructed, or the king's charter neglected, issuing regularly only in cases relating to the public and the government; and is therefore termed […] a prerogative writ."
- "The lord is compellable by mandamus to admit the surrenderee, that is, the person to whose use the surrender is made."
Etymology
From Latin mandāmus (“we command”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /mænˈdeɪməs/