n.1 a the act or an instance of dispensing or distributing. b (foll. by with) the state of doing without (a thing). c something distributed.
2 (usu. foll. by from) a exemption from a penalty or duty; an instance of this. b exemption from a religious observance; an instance of this.
3 a religious or political system obtaining in a nation etc. (the Christian dispensation).
4 a the ordering or management of the world by Providence. b a specific example of such ordering (of a community, a person, etc.).
Derivatives:
dispensational adj.
Etymology: ME f. OF dispensation or L dispensatio (as DISPENSE)