consign
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French consigner or directly from Latin cōnsignō (“furnish with a seal”), from con- + signō (“mark, sign”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kənˈsaɪn/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - Rhymes: -aɪn
- Hyphenation: con‧sign
Verb
consign (third-person singular simple present consigns, present participle consigning, simple past and past participle consigned)
- (transitive, business) To transfer to the custody of, usually for sale, transport, or safekeeping.
- (transitive) To entrust to the care of another.
- 1726, Alexander Pope, William Broome, and Elijah Fenton, transl., Odyssey, volume I, new edition, London: T. Longman et al., translation of original by Homer, published 1796, book III, lines 332–5, pages 147–8:
- For virtue’s image yet poſſeſt her mind, / Taught by a maſter of the tuneful kind : / Atrides, parting for the Trojan war, / Conſign’d the youthful conſort to his care.
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- (transitive) To send to a final destination.
- to consign the body to the grave
- 1707 April 7, Francis Atterbury, “A Spittal-Sermon Preach’d at St. Bridget’s Church, before the Right Honourable the Lord-Mayor, &c.”, in Sermons and Discourses on Several Subjects and Occasions, volume II, 5th edition, London: T. Woodward and C. Davis, published 1740, page 151:
- And this remarkable Property of Love will ſuggeſt to us one Reaſon, why Acts of Charity ſhall be enquir’d after ſo particularly, at the Day of general Account ; becauſe Good Men are then to be conſign’d over to another State, a State of everlaſting Love and Charity […]
- 1961 September, B. Perren, “The Tilbury Line serves industrial North Thameside”, in Modern Railways, page 359:
- This firm regularly consigns margarine in palletised wagon-loads to a wide variety of destinations.
- 2011 December 15, Felicity Cloake, “How to cook the perfect nut roast”, in Guardian:
- If there's such a thing as pariah food – a recipe shunned by mainstream menus, mocked to near extinction and consigned to niche hinterlands for evermore – then the nut roast, a dish whose very name has become a watchword for sawdusty disappointment, is surely a strong contender.
- 2021 October 20, Paul Stephen, “Leisure and pleasure on the Far North Line”, in RAIL, number 942, page 49:
- This controversial decision has consigned rail passengers to a considerable time penalty, when the direct route would have cut 45 minutes from Far North journey times.
- To assign; to devote; to set apart.
- a. 1700, John Dryden, “Dedication”, in The British Poets, volume XI, Edinburgh: A. Kincaid and W. Creech, and J. Balfour, published 1773, page 13:
- The French commander, charmed with the greatneſs of your ſoul, accordingly conſign’d it [a donation] to the uſe for which it was intended by the donor […]
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- To stamp or impress; to affect.
- 1650, Jeremy Taylor, “Devotions for ordinary days”, in The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living, 19th edition, London: J. Hepinstall, published 1703, page 44:
- Ennoble my ſoul with great degrees of love to thee, and conſign my ſpirit with great fear, religion and veneration of thy holy name and laws […]
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Usage notes
See usage note for commit.
Derived terms
terms derived from consign (verb)
- consignation
- consignee
- consigner
- consignment
- consignor
Translations
to transfer to the custody of
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to entrust to the care of another
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to send to a final destination
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Anagrams
- consing, sconing