ordain
Definitions
To officially make someone a priest, minister, or religious leader
授予神职，任命（神父、牧师等）
(of God, fate, or law) to order or decree that something shall happen
（上帝、命运、法律）注定，规定，颁令
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedordain keeps the Old French spelling of Latin ōrdināre, 'to set in order, arrange, appoint.' To ordain is to fix something into its appointed place from above: a church ordains a priest by formally placing them in holy office; fate or law can ordain that things shall be a certain way.
Root order still carries 34 more wordsWhy It Means This
ordain is the verb that keeps the root's oldest force: to arrange from above. Most of the family describes where things sit (order, ordinary); ordain describes the act of putting them there by authority. That's why it splits two ways — the religious ceremony of placing someone in holy office, and the grand sense of God, fate, or law decreeing how things must be.
Common Collocations
- 1.ordain a priest任命神父
- 2.ordain a minister任命牧师
- 3.ordained clergy受任命的神职人员
- 4.ordain that颁令规定
Example Sentences
- 1.
She was ordained as a minister after years of training.
- 2.
The church does not yet ordain women in some traditions.
- 3.
Fate seemed to have ordained that they would meet again.
- 4.
The constitution ordains that power be divided among three branches.