## Meanings
1. To officially make someone a priest, minister, or other religious leader
2. To order or decide something officially, by law or authority
3. To decide or fix someone's fate in advance, as if by destiny

## Examples
- He was ordained as a priest last spring.
- The new constitution ordained that elections be held every four years.
- It seemed that the two of them were ordained to meet.

## Synonyms
- foresay

## Derived Forms
- coordain
- disordain
- foreordain
- misordain
- ordainable
- ordainee
- ordainer
- ordainment
- preordain
- reordain
- unordain

## Related Forms
- ordination

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ordeynen
- Root: ordiner
- Root: ordinare

## Etymology
From Middle English ordeynen, from Old French ordiner, from Latin ordinare (“to order”), from ordo (“order”). Doublet of ordinate.

## AI Etymology
Ordain is from Middle English ordeynen, from Old French ordiner, from Latin ordinare (“to order”), from ordo (“order”). Doublet of ordinate. Important recorded forms include ordeynen (Middle English), ordiner (Old French), and ordinare (Latin). Current senses include to officially make someone a priest, minister, or other religious leader, to order or decide something officially, by law or authority, and to decide or fix someone's fate in advance, as if by destiny. The wider family includes derived forms such as coordain, disordain, foreordain, misordain, and ordainable and related words such as ordination.

## Topics
- Law & Government
- Religion & Belief

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