commission

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The act of granting certain powers or the authority to carry out a particular task or duty.
• noun The authority so granted.
• noun The matter or task so authorized.
• noun A document conferring such authorization.
• noun A public board or administrative body.
• noun A ruling council within the Mafia that adjudicates family disputes and regulates family activities.
• noun The act of committing or perpetrating.
• noun A fee or percentage allowed to a sales representative or an agent for services rendered.
• noun An official document issued by a government, conferring on the recipient the rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces.
• noun The rank and powers so conferred.
• transitive verb To grant a military commission to.
• transitive verb To grant authority for (something to be made or done); place an order for.
• transitive verb To authorize or engage (someone to do something): synonym: authorize.
• transitive verb To put (a ship) into active service.
• idiom (in commission) In active service. Used of a ship.
• idiom (in commission) In use or in usable condition.
• idiom (on commission) With a sales commission serving as full or partial recompense for the work done.
• idiom (out of commission) Not in active service. Used of a ship.
• idiom (out of commission) Not in use or working condition.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To give a commission to; empower or authorize by commission.
• To send with a mandate or authority; send as a commission.
• Synonyms To appoint, depute, delegate.
• noun A shirt.
• noun In naval use, a period of active service of a war-ship, from the time she is put into commission until she is again out of commission. In the British navy this period is from 2 to 5 years. In the United States navy there is no fixed length of commission.
• To order, as a war-ship, into active service, or to place in commission with formal ceremony.
• noun The act of committing or doing: often with the implication that the thing done is morally wrong: as, the commission of a crime.
• noun The act of intrusting, as a charge or duty.
• noun That which is committed, intrusted, or delivered.
• noun The warrant by which any trust is held or any authority exercised.
• noun Specifically— A warrant granted by government authority to a person, or to a body of persons, to inquire into and report on any subject.
• noun The document issued by the government to officers in the army and navy, judges, justices of the peace, and others, conferring authority to perform their various functions; also, the power thus granted.
• noun A writ which issues from a court of law for various purposes, such as the taking of evidence from witnesses who are unable to appear in court.
• noun Hence Charge; order; mandate; authority given.
• noun A body of persons intrusted jointly with the performance of certain special duties, usually of a public or legal character, either permanently or temporarily.
• noun In com., authority delegated by another for the purchase and sale of goods; the position or business of an agent; agency: thus, to trade or do business on commission is to buy or sell for another by his authority.
• noun The allowance made or the percentage given to a factor or agent for transacting business, or to an executor, administrator, or trustee, as his compensation for administering an estate.
• noun See to put in commission, below.
• noun In the United States navy, to transfer (a ship) from the navy-yard authorities to the command of the officer ordered in charge. Upon this transfer being made the ensign and pendant are hoisted, and the ship is then said to be in commission.
• noun Synonyms Perpetration.
• noun Percentage, brokerage, fee.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• transitive verb To give a commission to; to furnish with a commission; to empower or authorize.
• transitive verb To send out with a charge or commission.
• noun The act of committing, doing, or performing; the act of perpetrating.
• noun The act of intrusting; a charge; instructions as to how a trust shall be executed.
• noun The duty or employment intrusted to any person or persons; a trust; a charge.
• noun A formal written warrant or authority, granting certain powers or privileges and authorizing or commanding the performance of certain duties.