[mis.sion] n [NL, ML, & L; NL mission-, missio religious mission, fr. ML, task assigned, fr. L, act of sending, fr. mittere to send] (1606) 1 obs: the act or an instance of sending
2. a: a ministry commissioned by a religious organization to propagate its faith or carry on humanitarian work b: assignment to or work in a field of missionary enterprise c (1): a mission establishment (2): a local church or parish dependent on a larger religious organization for direction or financial support d pl: organized missionary work e: a course of sermons and services given to convert the unchurched or quicken Christian faith
3: a body of persons sent to perform a service or carry on an activity: as a: a group sent to a foreign country to conduct diplomatic or political negotiations b: a permanent embassy or legation c: a team of specialists or cultural leaders sent to a foreign country
4. a: a specific task with which a person or a group is charged b (1): a definite military, naval, or aerospace task "a bombing ~" "a space ~" (2): a flight operation of an aircraft or spacecraft in the performance of a mission "a ~ to Mars"
5: calling, vocation
[2]mission vt mis.sioned ; mis.sion.ing (1692) 1: to send on or entrust with a mission
2: to carry on a religious mission among or in [3]mission adj (1904) 1: of or relating to a style used in the early Spanish missions of the southwestern U.S. "~ architecture"
2: of, relating to, of having the characteristics of a style of plain heavy usu. oak furniture originating in the U.S. in the early part of the 20th century