Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Commutation

Comˊmu-ta′tion

,
Noun.
[L.
commutatio
: cf. F.
commutation
.]
1.
A passing from one state to another; change; alteration; mutation.
[R.]
So great is the
commutation
that the soul then hated only that which now only it loves.
South.
2.
The act of giving one thing for another; barter; exchange.
[Obs.]
The use of money is . . . that of saving the
commutation
of more bulky commodities.
Arbuthnot.
3.
(Law)
The change of a penalty or punishment by the pardoning power of the State;
as, the
commutation
of a sentence of death to banishment or imprisonment
.
Suits are allowable in the spiritual courts for money agreed to be given as a
commutation
for penance.
Blackstone.
4.
A substitution, as of a less thing for a greater, esp. a substitution of one form of payment for another, or one payment for many, or a specific sum of money for conditional payments or allowances;
as,
commutation
of tithes;
commutation
of fares;
commutation
of copyright;
commutation
of rations
.
5.
regular travel from a place of residence to a place where one’s daily work is performed; commuting. Most often, such travel is performed between a suburb and a nearby city.
Angle of commutation
(Astron.)
,
the difference of the geocentric longitudes of the sun and a planet.
Commutation of tithes
,
the substitution of a regular payment, chargeable to the land, for the annual tithes in kind.
Commutation ticket
,
a ticket, as for transportation, which is the evidence of a contract for service at a reduced rate. See 2d
Commute
, 2.

Webster 1828 Edition


Commutation

COMMUTATION

, n.
1.
Change; alteration; a passing from one state to another.
2.
Exchange; the act of giving one thing for another; barter.
The use of money is to save the commutation of more bulky commodities.
3.
In law, the change of a penalty or punishment from a greater to a less; as banishment instead of death.
Suits are allowable in the spiritual courts for money agreed to be given as a commutation for penance.

Definition 2024


commutation

commutation

English

Noun

commutation (plural commutations)

  1. (obsolete) A passing from one state to another; change; alteration; mutation.
  2. (obsolete) The act of giving one thing for another; barter; exchange.
  3. (formal or archaic) Substitution of one thing for another; interchange.
  4. Specifically, the substitution of one kind of payment for another, especially a switch to monetary payment from obligations of labour.
    • 1969, Philip Ziegler, The Black Death, Folio Society 2006, p. 213:
      Professor Postan has argued in favour of a rapid move towards commutation in the twelfth century which slackened or even went into reverse in the course of the thirteenth.
  5. (law) The change to a lesser penalty or punishment by the State
    • 1992, Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety, Harper Perennial 2007, p. 23:
      Monsieur the Marquis de Sade [was] now holed up in one of his châteaux while his wife worked for the commutation of a sentence passed on him recently for poisoning and buggery.
  6. (linguistics) Substitution, as a means of discriminating between phonemes.
  7. (electronics) The reversal of an electric current.

Translations