- Warrant
- Warrant War"rant, n. [OE. warant, OF. warant a warrant, a
defender, protector, F. garant, originally a p. pr. pf German
origin, fr. OHG. wer[=e]n to grant, warrant, G. gew["a]hren;
akin to OFries. wera. Cf. {Guarantee}.]
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1. That which warrants or authorizes; a commission giving
authority, or justifying the doing of anything; an act,
instrument, or obligation, by which one person authorizes
another to do something which he has not otherwise a right
to do; an act or instrument investing one with a right or
authority, and thus securing him from loss or damage;
commission; authority. Specifically:
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(a) A writing which authorizes a person to receive money
or other thing.
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(b) (Law) A precept issued by a magistrate authorizing an
officer to make an arrest, a seizure, or a search, or
do other acts incident to the administration of
justice.
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(c) (Mil. & Nav.) An official certificate of appointment
issued to an officer of lower rank than a commissioned
officer. See {Warrant officer}, below.
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2. That which vouches or insures for anything; guaranty; security. [1913 Webster]
I give thee warrant of thy place. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
His worth is warrant for his welcome hither. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
3. That which attests or proves; a voucher. [1913 Webster]
4. Right; legality; allowance. [Obs.] --Shak. [1913 Webster]
{Bench warrant}. (Law) See in the Vocabulary.
{Dock warrant} (Com.), a customhouse license or authority.
{General warrant}. (Law) See under {General}.
{Land warrant}. See under {Land}.
{Search warrant}. (Law) See under {Search}, n.
{Warrant of attorney} (Law), written authority given by one person to another empowering him to transact business for him; specifically, written authority given by a client to his attorney to appear for him in court, and to suffer judgment to pass against him by confession in favor of some specified person. --Bouvier.
{Warrant officer}, a noncommissioned officer, as a sergeant, corporal, bandmaster, etc., in the army, or a quartermaster, gunner, boatswain, etc., in the navy.
{Warrant to sue and defend}. (a) (O. Eng. Law) A special warrant from the crown, authorizing a party to appoint an attorney to sue or defend for him. (b) A special authority given by a party to his attorney to commence a suit, or to appear and defend a suit in his behalf. This warrant is now disused. --Burrill. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
