mission (mishon)

[ Whose glorious deeds, but in these fields of late, Made emulous mi ions 'mongst the gods themselves. Shak ., T. and C., iii. 3. 189. They never enquired whether the Miracle were wrought or no, or whether their Doctrine were true; all their Question was about their Mi ion , whether it were ordinary or extraordinary. Stilling fleet , Sermons, II. i. 2. That for which one is sent or commi ioned; the power conferred or duty imposed on an envoy or me enger; a delegated busine or function; an errand. Hast thou perform'd my mi ion which I gave? Tennyson, Morte d'Arthur. Hence-3. That for which a person or thing is destined or designed; predestined function; determinate purpose or object. How to begin, how to accomplish best His end of being on earth, and mi ion high. Mi Wisk's mi ion Milton , P. R., ii. 114. The ardour and perseverance with which he [William of Orange] devoted himself to his mi ion have scarcely any parallel in history. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vii. was to show the world that woman's mi ion was man's mi ion ; and that the only genuine mi ion of both man and woman was to be always moving declaratory resolutions about things in general at public meetings. Dickens , Bleak House, xxx. What if it be the mi ion of that age My death will usher into life, to shake This torpor of a urance from our creed? Browning , Ring and Book, II. 224. 4. An organized effort for the spread of religion, or for the enlightenment and elevation of some community or region; organized mi ionary effort; religious propagandism: as, Christian mi ions ; the home and foreign mi ions of the Presbyterian Church; domestic mi ions ; the city mi ion .-5. In the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, a series of special religious services organized to quicken the piety of Christians and convert the impenitent. The person appointed to conduct such a mi ion is termed a mi ioner .-6. A particular field of mi ionary activity; a mi ionary post or station, or the body of mi ionaries established there; a center of organized mi ionary effort or of religious propagandism; specifically, in the Roman Catholic Church, the district a igned to a mis sionary priest.-7. The office or establishment of a foreign envoy; the charge or post of an amba ador; a foreign legation: as, the mi ion to Persia: the members of the British mi ion at Washington.-8t. Dismi ion; discharge from service. In Cesar's army, somewhat the soldiers would have had, Bacon, Apophthegms. yet only demanded a mi ion or discharge. =Syn. 2. Office, duty, charge, emba y. Lamia, regal, drest, mi peak I have lost him by my own want of decision my own mi ishne rather, in liking to have lovers in order to teaze them. T. Hook , All in the Wrong, ii. ( Encyc . Dict .) Mi i ippi (mis-i-sip'i), n. [So called from the river or State of that name.] An old game, similar to bagatelle, in which balls are struck by a cue into pockets at one end of a table, and the players score according to the number above that pocket into which a ball is struck. Strutt . Mi i ippi an (mis-i-sip'i-an), a. and n. Mi i ippi (see def.) + -an .] I. a. Of or pertaining to the State of Mi i ippi or the river Mi i ippi. Silently paced about, and, as she went,... Mi ion'd her viewle servants to enrich The fretted splendour of each nook and niche. Keats , Lamia, ii. mi ionary (mish'on-a-ri), a . and n. [= F. mi ionnaire = Sp. misionario , misionero = Pg. mi ion a rio , mi ionar = It. mi ion a rio, mis- sionary, a mi ionary, mi io (n-), a mi ion: see mi ion .] I. a. Relating or pertaining to mi ions, especially Christian mi ions; proper to one sent on a mi ion; characteristic of a propagandist: as, a mi ionary society or meet- ing; mi ionary funds; mi ionary work; mis- + sit.] To be unbecoming. sionary zeal or energy. --Mi ionary bishop, a bish- op having jurisdiction in a heathen country, or in districts newly settled or not yet erected into dioceses. Mi ion- ary bishops of the Church of England are commonly called colonial bishops , whether their jurisdictions are in British colonies or not. In most of the British colonies, however, the bishops are diocesan. II. n.; pl. mi ionaries (-riz). 1. One who is sent upon a mi ion; an envoy or me enger. Through the transparent region of the skies, Swift as a wish, the mi ionary flies. Garth , Dispensary, iv. [ II. n. A native or an inhabitant of Mi i ippi, one of the Gulf States of the United States. mi itt (mis-sit'), v. i. [ME. mi it ten ; mis -1 Boon nor brekke Nas ther non seen that my at. Chaucer, Death of Blanche, 1. 941. mi ive (mis'iv), a . and n. [ mi if (fem. mi ive , n., orig. and now only as adj., in lettre = Pr . mi iu = mi ive , a letter mi ive) Sp. misivo = Pg. It. mi ivo , mi ivus , sent, for sending, fem. sing. or neut. pl. mi iva , a letter sent, mittere , pp. mi us , send: see mi ion.] I. a. 1. Sent or proceeding, as from some authoritative or official source. 2. Specifically, a person sent by ecclesiastical authority to labor for the propagation of his religious faith in a community where his church has no self-supporting indigenous organization; 2t. Thrown or hurled; mi ile. To write your letters mi ive , and send out Your privy seals. B. Jonson, Devil is an A , iii. 1. hence, any propagandist. The Presbyterian mi ionary , who hath been persecuted for his religion. Swift . The armies mustered in the North were as much mi ionaries to the mind of the country as they were carriers of materials. Emerson, Soldiers' Monument, Concord. mi ioner (mish'on-er), n. [ mi ionary .] 1. One sent on a mi ion; an IMG:content-0764.png:[blocks in formation] For the Mi ioners living here [in Tonquin] are purposely skill'd in mending Clocks, Watches, or some Mathematical Instruments, of which the country people are ignorant. Dampier , Voyages, II. i. 96. When... the first European mi ioner entered China, the court was informed that he po e ed great skill in astronomy. Goldsmith, Citizen of the World, civ. Ricci died [at Pekin) in 1610, but was succeeded by misCath. Dict., p. 478. sioners not le able and zealous. 3. One engaged in holding special religious services at a chapel or other place appendant to and supported by a mother church or religious society; specifically, in the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, a priest or member of a religious order devoted to the holding of mi ions. See mi ion, n., 5. There was an interesting discu ion on special mi ion services; some advocating mi ion preaching, and preachers being set apart for this work..... Every pastor should be a mi ioner , and aim at conversions. Congregationalist, June 11, 1885. mi ion-rooms (mish'on-römz), n . pl . Rooms where mi ionary work is carried on. He recommends children's services and Eucharists, encouragement of healthy and innocent amusements, the multiplication of mi ion - rooms in squalid districts. Quarterly Rev., CXLV. 57.