commandment

[kuh-mand-muh nt, -mahnd-] /kəˈmænd mənt, -ˈmɑnd-/
noun
1.
a command or mandate.
2.
(sometimes initial capital letter) any of the Ten Commandments.
3.
the act or power of commanding.
Origin
1200-50; Middle English com(m)and(e)ment < Anglo-French, Old French com(m)andement. See command, -ment
Examples from the web for commandments
  • My take on this is that it means all the commandments.
  • Other cultures controlled behavior by citing divine commandments.
  • Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
British Dictionary definitions for commandments

commandment

/kəˈmɑːndmənt/
noun
1.
a divine command, esp one of the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament
2.
(literary) any command
Word Origin and History for commandments
n.

short for The Ten Commandments, attested from late 13c. In Old English they were ða bebodu.

commandment

n.

late 13c., "an order from an authority," from Old French comandement "order, command," from Latin *commandamentum, from *commandare (see command (v.)). Pronounced as four syllables until 17c.

Of þe x commandements ... þe first comondement is þis, O God we ssul honuri [c.1280]