Emily Dickinson Lexicon

COM-MAND', n.

1. The right or power of governing with chief or exclusive authority; supreme power; control; as, an officer has a brigade under his command; he takes command of the army in France; an appropriate military term.
2. The power of controlling; governing influence; sway. He assumed an absolute command over his readers. – Dryden.
3. Cogent or absolute authority. Command and force may often create, but can never cure, an aversion. – Locke.
4. The act of commanding; the mandate uttered; order given. The captain gives command. – Dryden.
5. The power of overlooking, or surveying, without obstruction. The sleepy strand, / Which overlooks the vale with wide command. – Dryden.
6. The power of governing or controlling by force, or of defending and protecting; as, the fortress has complete command of the port.
7. That which is commanded; control; as, a body of troops under command. – Marshall.
8. Order, request, message, any communication desired, or sent; a complimentary use.
9. A body of troops, or any naval or military force, under the command of a particular officer.