errand

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: er=rand

CIDE DICTIONARY

errand, n. [OE. erende, erande, message, business, AS. ærende, ærend; akin to OS. arundi, OHG. arunti, Icel. eyrendi, örendi, erendi, Sw. ärende, Dan. ærende; perh. akin to AS. earu swift, Icel. örr, and to L. oriri to rise, E. orient.].

•  A special business intrusted to a messenger; something to be told or done by one sent somewhere for the purpose; often, a verbal message; a commission; as, the servant was sent on an errand; to do an errand. Also, one's purpose in going anywhere.  [1913 Webster]

  "I have a secret errand to thee, O king."  [1913 Webster]

  "I will not eat till I have told mine errand."  [1913 Webster]
•  Any specific task, usually of a routine nature, requiring some form of travel, usually locally. An errand is often on behalf of someone else, but sometimes for one's own purposes.  [PJC]
•  A mission.  [PJC]

To run an errand, To perform an errand{2}.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

errand, n.
1 a short journey, esp. on another's behalf, to take a message, collect goods, etc.
2 the object of such a journey.

Idiom

errand of mercy a journey to relieve suffering etc.

Etymology

OE {aelig}rende f. Gmc

THESAURUS

errand

agency, agentship, assignment, authority, authorization, brevet, busywork, care, chare, charge, chore, commission, commissioning, commitment, consignment, cure, delegated authority, delegation, deputation, devolution, devolvement, duty, embassy, empowerment, entrusting, entrustment, executorship, exequatur, exercise, factorship, fish to fry, full power, homework, job, job of work, journey, jurisdiction, labor, legation, license, lieutenancy, make-work, mandate, matters in hand, mission, odd job, office, piece of work, plenipotentiary power, power of attorney, power to act, procuration, project, proxy, purview, regency, regentship, responsibility, service, stint, task, things to do, trip, trust, trusteeship, vicarious authority, warrant, work

ROGET THESAURUS

errand

Business

N business, occupation, employment, pursuit, what one is doing, what one is about, affair, concern, matter, case, matter in hand, irons in the fire, thing to do, agendum, task, work, job, chore, errand, commission, mission, charge, care, duty, part, role, cue, province, function, lookout, department, capacity, sphere, orb, field, line, walk, walk of life, beat, round, routine, race, career, office, place, post, chargeship, incumbency, living, situation, berth, employ, service, engagement, undertaking, vocation, calling, profession, cloth, faculty, industry, art, industrial arts, craft, mystery, handicraft, trade, exercise, work, avocation, press of business, businesslike, workaday, professional, official, functional, busy, on hand, in hand, in one's hands, afoot, on foot, on the anvil, going on, acting, in the course of business, all in one's day's work, professionally Adj, a business with an income at its heels, amoto quaeramus seria ludo, par negotiis neque supra.

Commission

N commission, delegation, consignment, assignment, procuration, deputation, legation, mission, embassy, agency, agentship, power of attorney, clerkship, surrogacy, errand, charge, brevet, diploma, exequatur, permit, appointment, nomination, designation, return, charter, ordination, installation, inauguration, investiture, swearing-in, accession, coronation, enthronement, vicegerency, regency, regentship, viceroy, consignee, deputy, agent, delegate, consignee, commissioned, per procurationem.

News

N news, information, piece of news, budget of news, budget of information, intelligence, tidings, word, advice, aviso, message, dispatch, despatch, telegram, cable, marconigram, wire, communication, errand, embassy, report, rumor, hearsay, on dit, flying rumor, news stirring, cry, buzz, bruit, fame, talk, oui dire, scandal, eavesdropping, town tattle, table talk, tittle tattle, canard, topic of the day, idea afloat, bulletin, fresh news, stirring news, glad tidings, flash, news just in, on-the-spot coverage, live coverage, old story, old news, stale news, stale story, chestnut, narrator, newsmonger, scandalmonger, talebearer, telltale, gossip, tattler, journalism, media, news media, the press, the information industry, newspaper, magazine, tract, journal, gazette, publication, radio, television, ticker (electronic information transmission), United Press International, UPI, Associated Press, AP, The Dow Jones News Service, DJ, The New York Times News Service, NYT, Reuters, TASS, The Nikkei, newscaster, newsman, newswoman, reporter, journalist, correspondent, foreign correspondent, special correspondent, war correspondent, news team, news department, anchorman, anchorwoman, sportscaster, weatherman, press secretary, public relations department, public relations man, many-tongued, rumored, publicly rumored, currently rumored, currently reported, rife, current, floating, afloat, going about, in circulation, in every one's mouth, all over the town, in progress, live, on the spot, in person, as the story goes, as the story runs, as they say, it is said, by telegraph, by wireless, airy tongues that syllable men's names, what's up?, what's the latest?, what's new?, what's the latest poop?.