King James Bible Dictionary

COMMIT, verb transitive Literally, to send to or upon; to throw, put or lay upon. Hence,

1. To give in trust; to put into the hands or power of another; to entrust; with to.

COMMIT thy way to the Lord. Psalms 37:5.

The things thou hast heard of me, commit to faithful men. 2 Timothy 2:2.

2. To put into any place for preservation; to deposit; as, to commit a passage in a book to memory; to commit the body to the grave.

3. To put or sent to, for confinement; as, to commit an offender to prison. Hence for the sake of brevity, commit is used for imprison. The sheriff has committed the offender.

These two were committed, at least restrained of their liberty.

4. To do; to effect or perpetrate; as, to commit murder, treason, felony, or trespass.

Thou shalt not commit adultery. Exodus 20:14.

5. To join or put together, for a contest; to match; followed by with; a latinism.

How does Philopolis commit the opponent with the respondent.

6. To place in a state of hostility or incongruity. Committing short and long words. But this seems to be the same signification as the foregoing.

7. To expose or endanger by a preliminary step or decision which cannot be recalled; as, to commit the peace of a country by espousing the cause of a belligerent.

You might have satisfied every duty of political friendship without committing the honor of your sovereign.

8. To engage; to pledge; or to pledge by implication.

The general--addressed letters to Gen. Gates and to Gen. Heath, cautioning them against any sudden assent to the proposal, which might possibly be considered as committing the faith of the United States.

And with the reciprocal pronoun, to commit ones self, is to do some act, or make some declaration, which may bind the person in honor, good faith, or consistency, to pursue a certain course of conduct, or to adhere to the tenor of that declaration.

9. To refer or entrust to a committee, or select number of persons, for their consideration and report; a term of legislation; as, the petition or the bill is committed. Is it the pleasure of the house to commit the bill?

COMMITMENT, noun

1. The act of committing; a sending to prison; a putting into prison; imprisonment. It is equivalent to sending or putting in simply; as a commitment to the tower, or to Newgate; or for the sake of brevity, omitting the name of the place, it is equivalent to putting into prison; as, the offender is secured by commitment

2. An order for confining in prison. But more generally we use mittimus.

3. The act of referring or entrusting to a committee for consideration; a term in legislation; as the commitment of a petition or a bill to a select number of persons for consideration and report.

4. The act of delivering in charge or entrusting.

5. A doing, or perpetration, as of sin or a crime; commission.

6. The act of pledging or engaging; or the act of exposing or endangering.

COMMITTED, participle passive Delivered in trust; given in charge; deposited; imprisoned; done; perpetrated; engaged; exposed; referred to a committee.

COMMITTEE, noun One or more persons, elected or appointed, to whom any matter or business is referred, either by a legislative body or either branch of it, or by a court, or by an corporation, or by any society, or collective body of men acting together. In legislative bodies, a house or branch of that body may resolve or form itself into a committee called a committee of the whole hose, when the speaker leaves the chair, and one of the members acts as chairman. Standing committees are such as continue during the existence of the legislature, and to these are committed all matters that fall within the purposes of their appointment; as the committee of elections, or of privileges, etc. Special committees are appointed to consider and report on particular subjects.

COMMITTEESHIP, noun The office and profit of committees.

COMMITTER, noun One who commits; one who does or perpetrates.

COMMITTIBLE, adjective That may be committed.

COMMITTING, participle present tense Giving in trust; depositing; imprisoning; perpetrating; engaging; referring to a committee; exposing.