- mission
- 1598, originally of Jesuits sending members abroad, from L. missionem (nom. missio) "act of sending," from mittere "to send," oldest form probably *smittere, of unknown origin. Diplomatic sense of "body of persons sent to a foreign land on commercial or political business" is from 1626. In Amer.Eng., sometimes "an embassy" (1805). Meaning "dispatch of an aircraft on a military operation" (1929, Amer.Eng.) later extended to spacecraft flights (1962), hence, mission control (1964). As a style of furniture, said to be imitative of furniture of original Sp. missions to N.America, it is attested from 1900.
- missionary (n.)
- 1656, from mission (q.v.). Missionary position first attested 1969; allegedly so called because Christian missionaries forced it on "primitive" people to replace their more creative variations.
- Alamo
- nickname of Franciscan Mission San Antonio de Valeroin (begun 1718, dissolved 1793) in San Antonio, Texas; Amer.Sp., lit. "poplar" (in New Spain, also "cottonwood"), from alno "the black poplar," from L. alnus "alder" (cf. alder). Perhaps so called in reference to trees growing nearby (cf. Alamogordo, New Mexico, lit. "big poplar," and Sp. alameda "a public walk with a row of trees on each side"); but the popular name seems to date from the period 1803-13, when the old mission was the base for a Spanish cavalry company from the Mexican town of Alamo de Parras in Nueva Vizcaya.
- debrief
- "obtain information (from someone) at the end of a mission," 1945, from de- + brief (v.).
- Duluth
- city in Minnesota, U.S., named for Fr. pioneer explorer Daniel Greysolen, sieur du Luth (1649-1710), "the Robin Hood of Canada," the leader of the coureurs de bois, who passed through in 1678 on a mission into the wilderness.
- transaxle
- 1958, from trans(mission) + axle.
- admit
- early 15c., "let in," from L. admittere "to allow to enter, let in," from ad- "to" + mittere "let go, send" (see mission). Sense of "to concede as valid or true" is first recorded 1530s. Related: Admittedly (1804).
- errand
- O.E. ærende "message, mission," from P.Gmc. *ærundjam. Related: Errands.
- legacy
- late 14c., "body of persons sent on a mission," from O.Fr. legacie "legate's office," from M.L. legatia, from L. legatus "ambassador, envoy," noun use of pp. of legare "appoint by a last will, send as a legate" (see legate). Sense of "property left by will" appeared in Scot. c.1460.
- self-destruct
- as a verb, in ref. to things, "to destroy itself automatically," from self + destruct, apparently first attested in the U.S. TV series "Mission Impossible" (1966). Self-destructive is recorded from 1654, and self-destruction "suicide" is attested from 1586.
- embassy
- 1579, from M.Fr. embassee "mission, charge, office of ambassador," from It. ambasciata, from O.Prov. ambaisada "office of ambassador," from Gaul. *ambactos "dependant, vassal," lit. "one going around."
- demit
- 1610s (figurative), 1640s (literal), from L. demittere "to send down," from de- + mittere "to send" (see mission).
- remit
- late 14c., from L. remittere "send back, slacken, let go, abate," from re- "back" + mittere "to send" (see mission). Meaning "send money to someone" first recorded 1640.
- surmise
- c.1400, "to charge, allege," from O.Fr. surmis, pp. of surmettre "to accuse," from sur- "upon" + mettre "put," from L. mittere "to send" (see mission). Meaning "to infer conjecturally" is recorded from 1700. The noun meaning "inference, guess" is first found in Eng. 1590; earlier it was a legal term meaning "formal allegation" (1451).
- commit
- late 14c., from L. committere "to bring together," from com- "together" + mittere "to put, send" (see mission). Evolution into modern range of meanings is not entirely clear. Sense of "perpetrating" was ancient in Latin. The intransitive use (in place of commit oneself) first recorded 1982, probably influenced by existentialism use (1948) of commitment to translate Sartre's engagement "to emotionally and morally engage."
- destruct
- "to destroy," 1958, probably a back formation from destruction in the jargon of U.S. aerospace and defense workers to refer to deliberate destruction of a missile in flight by a friendly agent, popularized 1966 in form self-destruct in the voice-over at the beginning of popular TV spy drama "Mission Impossible." OED records an isolated use of destruct from 17c., in this case probably from L. destruct-, pp. stem of destruere.
- premise (n.)
- late 14c., in logic, "a previous proposition from which another follows," from O.Fr. premisse, from M.L. premissa (propositio) "(the proposition) set before," fem. pp. of L. praemittere "send or put before," from prae- "before" + mittere "to send" (see mission). In legal documents it meant "matter previously stated" (early 15c.), which in deeds or wills often was a house or building, hence extended meaning of "house or building, with grounds" (1730). The verb meaning "to state before something else" is from 1520s.
- promise (n.)
- c.1400, from L. promissum "a promise," noun use of neuter pp. of promittere "send forth, foretell, promise," from pro- "before" + mittere "to put, send" (see mission). Ground sense is "declaration made about the future, about some act to be done or not done." The verb is attested from c.1420. Promised land (1538) is a ref. to the land of Canaan promised to Abraham and his progeny (Heb. xi.9, etc.; Gk. ten ges tes epangelias). Promising "showing signs of future excellence" is from 1601.
- forlorn
- mid-12c., "depraved," pp. of obsolete forlesan "be deprived of, lose, abandon," from O.E. forleosan, from for- "completely" + leosan "to lose" (see lose). In the Mercian hymns, L. perditionis is glossed by O.E. forlorenisse. Originally "forsaken, abandoned;" sense of "wretched, miserable" first recorded 1580s. Commonly in forlorn hope (1570s), which is a partial translation of Du. verloren hoop, in which hoop means "troop, band," lit. "heap," and the sense of the whole phrase is of a suicide mission. The phrase is usually used incorrectly in Eng., and the misuse has colored the sense of forlorn. Related: Forlornly; forlornness.
- mess
- c.1300, "food for one meal, pottage," from O.Fr. mes "portion of food, course at dinner," from L.L. missus "course at dinner," lit. "placing, putting (on a table, etc.)," from mittere "to put, place," from L. mittere "to send, let go" (see mission). Sense of "mixed food" led to contemptuous use for "jumble, mixed mass" (1828), and figurative sense of "state of confusion" (1834), as well as "condition of untidiness" (1851). Meaning "communal eating place"(esp. a military one) is first attested 1530s, from earlier sense of "company of persons eating together" (early 15c.), originally a group of four. To mess with "interfere, get involved" is from 1903; mess up "make a mistake, get in trouble" is from 1933, both originally Amer.Eng. colloquial.