Today's Word "countermand"
Revocation of a former order
on
Published in Vocabulary
countermand \KOWN-tuhr-mand; kown-tuhr-MAND\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To revoke (a former command); to cancel or rescind by giving an order contrary to one previously given. 2 : To recall or order back by a contrary order.
(noun) - 1 : A contrary order. 2 : Revocation of a former order or command.
"Tis a singular messenger the captain-general has chosen to send with a countermand of an order he had given out an hour ago, to fire the town at dawn." -- J.H. Ingraham, 'The Quadroone Or St. Michael's Day'
Countermand derives from Old French contremander, from contre-, "counter" (from Latin contra) + mander, "to command" (from Latin mandare).