dispensation
/dɪsˌpɛnˈseɪʃən/
dispensation means the act of dispensing or dealing out; distribution. It carries an Arena rating of 1611, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, dispensation ranks #638 of 13,225 for Most Malleable Words, #1,071 of 13,225 for Most Elegant Words, #1,113 of 13,225 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,485 of 13,225 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
dispensation is pronounced /dɪsˌpɛnˈseɪʃən/.
Why “dispensation” is a great word
A dispensation is a formal, authoritative system of distributing or administering, or a specific period governed by such a system, often of divine origin. Its etymology flows from Old French *despensacion*, from Latin *dispensātiōnem* ("management, distribution"), from *dispensare* ("to weigh out, distribute"). Unlike a simple “distribution,” which is a general and often secular handing-out, or an “exemption,” which is a specific release from a rule, a dispensation is the measured, sovereign framework that enables such acts. It is the priest carefully apportioning the sacramental wine, the heavy seal of a papal bull, and the weight of an entire covenant settling upon a chosen people—a solemn reminder that order, whether earthly or celestial, is always a granted thing.
Etymology
From Old French despensacion, from Latin dispensātiō. By surface analysis, dispens(e) + -ation.
noun
- The act of dispensing or dealing out; distribution“a fair dispensation of money”
- The distribution of good and evil by God to man.“Shall we not accompt theſe a part of Gods dispenſation, and therefore good in the Fountaine, from whence they flowed”
- That which is dispensed, dealt out, or given; that which is bestowed on someone“Bowman certainly lost no time in travelling south to obtain his dispensation once he had published the sermon”
- A system of principles, promises, and rules ordained and administered; scheme; economy“the Patriarchal, Mosaic, and Christian dispensations”
- The relaxation of a law in a particular case; permission to do something forbidden, or to omit doing something enjoined; exemption.“Special grounds for giving dispensation to see classified documents include research purposes.”
- The relaxation of a law in a particular case; permission to do something forbidden, or to omit doing something enjoined; exemption.; In the Roman Catholic Church, an exemption from some ecclesiastical law, or from an obligation to God which a person has incurred of his own free will (oaths, vows, etc.).“[H]e had a dispensation for conforming in outward observances to the Protestant faith.”
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