Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Warrant
War′rant
,Noun.
[OE.
warant
, OF. warant
a warrant, a defender, protector, F. garant
, originally a p. pr. of German origin, fr. OHG. werēn
to grant, warrant, G. gewähren
; akin to OFries. wera
. Cf. Guarantee
.] 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: –(a)
A writing which authorizes a person to receive money or other thing.
(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.
(c)
(Mil. & Nav.)
An official certificate of appointment issued to an officer of lower rank than a commissioned officer. See
Warrant officer
, below. 2.
That which vouches or insures for anything; guaranty; security.
I give thee
warrant
of thy place. Shakespeare
His worth is
warrant
for his welcome hither. Shakespeare
3.
That which attests or proves; a voucher.
4.
Right; legality; allowance.
[Obs.]
Shak.
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
, Noun.
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.
War′rant
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Warranted
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Warranting
.] [OE. ]
waranten
, OF. warantir
, garantir
, guarantir
, garentir
, garandir
, F. garantir
to warrant, fr. OF. warant
, garant
, guarant
, a warrant, a protector, a defender, F. garant
. √142. See Warrant
, Noun.
1.
To make secure; to give assurance against harm; to guarantee safety to; to give authority or power to do, or forbear to do, anything by which the person authorized is secured, or saved harmless, from any loss or damage by his action.
That show I first my body to
warrant
. Chaucer.
I’ll
warrant
him from drowning. Shakespeare
In a place
Less
I can not be.
Less
warranted
than this, or less secure,I can not be.
Milton.
2.
To support by authority or proof; to justify; to maintain; to sanction;
as, reason
. warrants
itTrue fortitude is seen in great exploits,
That justice
That justice
warrants
, and that wisdom guides. Addison.
How little while it is since he went forth out of his study, – chewing a Hebrew text of Scripture in his mouth, I
warrant
. Hawthorne.
3.
To give a warrant or warranty to; to assure as if by giving a warrant to.
[My neck is] as smooth as silk, I
warrant
ye. L' Estrange.
4.
(Law)
(a)
To secure to, as a grantee, an estate granted; to assure.
(b)
To secure to, as a purchaser of goods, the title to the same; to indemnify against loss.
(c)
To secure to, as a purchaser, the quality or quantity of the goods sold, as represented. See , 2.
Warranty
, Noun.
(d)
To assure, as a thing sold, to the purchaser; that is, to engage that the thing is what it appears, or is represented, to be, which implies a covenant to make good any defect or loss incurred by it.
Webster 1828 Edition
Warrant
WARRANT
,Verb.
T.
1.
To authorize; to give authority or power to do or forbear any thing, by which the person authorized is secured or saved harmless from any loss or damage by the act. A commission warrants an officer to seize an enemy. We are not warranted to resist legitimate government. Except in extreme cases.2.
To maintain; to support by authority or proof.Reason warrants it, and we may safely receive it as true.
3.
To justify.True fortitude is seen in great exploits, that justice warrants, and that wisdom guides.
4.
To secure; to exempt; to privilege..Ill warrant him from drowning.
In a place less warranted than this, or less secure, I cannot be--
5.
To declare with assurance.My neck is as smooth as silk, I warrant ye.
6.
In law, to secure to a grantee an estate granted; to assure.7.
To secure to a purchaser of goods the title to the same; or to indemnify him against loss.8.
To secure to a purchaser the good quality of the goods sold. [See Warranty.]9.
To assure that a thing is what it appears to be, which implies a covenant to make good any defect or loss incurred by it.WARRANT
,Noun.
1.
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; a word of general application.2.
A precept authorizing an officer to seize an offender and bring him to justice. A general warrant to seize suspected persons, is illegal.3.
Authority; power that authorizes or justifies any act. Those who preach the gospel have the warrant of Scripture. We have the warrant of natural right to do what the laws do not forbid; but civility and propriety may sometimes render things improper, which natural right warrants.4.
A commission that gives authority, or that justifies.5.
A voucher; that which attests or proves.6.
Right; legality.Theres warrant in that theft which steals itself when theres no mercy left.
7.
A writing which authorizes a person to receive money or other thing.Warrant of attorney, that by which a man appoints another to act in his name, and warrants his transaction.
Land warrant, is an instrument or writing issued by the proper officer, authorizing a person to locate or take up a tract of new or uncultivated land.
Search warrant, a precept authorizing a person to enter houses, shops, &c. to search for a criminal, for stolen or smuggled goods.
Warrant officer, an officer holding a warrant from the navy board, such as the master, surgeon, purser, &c. of a ship.