mandamus

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   law: a court order compelling a public official, lower court, agency, or other body to perform a duty required by law

   The residents sought a writ of mandamus ordering the council to hold the election.

From Latin mandamus ('we command'), the first-person plural present of mandare ('to order, entrust'). English law adopted the opening word of the writ as the name of the remedy itself.

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