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# The Good Oil Word of the Day
- URL: https://goodoil.news/the-good-oil-word-of-the-day-16/
- Published: 2024-08-09T18:15:08.000Z
- Updated: 2024-08-09T18:15:07.000Z
- Author: David Theobald
- Tags: General, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2024-07-20 04:39

The word for today is…

countermand (verb, noun):

*verb*  
1: to revoke (a command) by a contrary order  
2: to recall or order back by a superseding contrary order

*noun*  
1: a contrary order  
2: the revocation of an order or command

Source : [Merriam -Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/countermand?ref=goodoil.news)

Etymology : In the military, one's mandate is to follow the commands (and sometimes the countermands) of the officers. Doing their bidding is not particularly commendable—it's simply mandatory. The Latin verb mandare, meaning "to entrust" or "to order," is the authority behind countermand. It's also behind the words mandate, command, demand, commend (which can mean "to entrust" as well as "to praise"), and mandatory. Countermand came to English via Anglo French, where the prefix cuntre- ("against") was combined with the verb mander ("to command"). It has been a part of English since the 1400s.

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