appointment
nounUS, UK /əˈpɔɪnt.mɛnt/ · Southern-US /əˈpɔɪnt.mɪnt/
Etymology From Middle English appoyntement, apoyntement, from Old French appointement, equivalent to appoint + -ment.
10 senses
- 1The act of appointing a person to hold an office or to…
- 2The state of being appointed to a service or office; an…
- 3A stipulation; an agreement; the act of fixing by mutual…
- 4An arrangement between people to meet; an engagement.
- 5A decree; a direction; an established order or constitution.
- 6The exercise of the power of designating (under a power…
- 7The assignment of a person by an official to perform a…
- 8Equipment, furniture.
- 9An honorary part or exercise, as an oration, etc., at a…
- 10The allowance paid to a public officer.
The act of appointing a person to hold an office or to have a position of trust.
- His appointment as treasurer was deemed suitable.
The state of being appointed to a service or office; an office to which one is appointed.
- the appointment of treasurer
A stipulation; an agreement; the act of fixing by mutual agreement.
An arrangement between people to meet; an engagement.
- They made an appointment to meet at six.
- I’m leaving work early because I have a doctor’s appointment.
1 more example
- Love's right outside our door / It made an appointment with our hearts / We tell ourselves there's time / But we never seem to get around to it1979, Shalamar, “Let's Find the Time for Love”, in Big Fun:
Lifestyle, Religion A decree; a direction; an established order or constitution.
- to submit to the divine appointments
- According to the appointment of the priests.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ezra 6:9:
Law The exercise of the power of designating (under a power of appointment) a person to enjoy an estate or other specific property; also, the instrument by which the designation is made.
Government The assignment of a person by an official to perform a duty, such as a presidential appointment of a judge to a court.
In plural Equipment, furniture.
- […] the house had been inhabited for years by his father, and in many of its appointments was old-fashioned and grim […]1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC:
- The appointments of a gentleman's dressing-room are similar in most respects to those of the lady's dressing-room, the differences being in trifling matters.1876, Eliza Bisbee Duffey, Our Behaviour: A Manual of Etiquette and Dress of the Best American Society, Philadelphia:
1 more example
- The appointments were primitive, but the Schnitzel, the beer, and the cheese could not have been improved on.1910, Saki [pseudonym; Hector Hugh Munro], “The Soul of Laploshka”, in Reginald in Russia and Other Sketches, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 70:
US An honorary part or exercise, as an oration, etc., at a public exhibition of a college.
- to have an appointment
Obsolete The allowance paid to a public officer.
- Antonyms
- dismissal
- Derived terms
- appointment diary, appointment in Samarra, appointment television, appointment TV, deed of appointment, dick appointment, double appointment, foreappointment, interappointment, midnight appointment, nonappointment, power of appointment, preappointment, reappointment, recess appointment, self-appointment