mandatn.
/ˈmandɑː/, U.S. /ˌmɑnˈdɑ/ 1. In full mandat territorial. A unit of currency issued in the form of paper money by the revolutionary government of France from 1796 to 1797. Cf. assignat n. historical.
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society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > paper money > foreign banknotes > [noun] > French
assignat1790
mandat1796
1796 T. W. Tone Diary 22 May in Writings (2009) II. 189 Madgett replied..that the Government was in the most extreme distress for money, being absolutely without any; that the mandats had failed in their operation.
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products 238/2 Mandats, a national paper-money, issued..in France to replace the assignats which had become wretchedly depreciated.
1902 J. R. Moreton-Macdonald in T. Carlyle French Revol. III. App. 339 The Directory..destroyed the die of the Assignats, but immediately replaced them by Mandats Territoriaux which rapidly followed the same course.
1930 S. E. Harris Assignats ix. 225 The Assignats were to be exchanged for Mandats which were to be supported by a special security.
1955 E. Pound Section: Rock-drill lxxxviii. 45 Willing to see a currency of hard money..as France since the time of mandats and assignats.
1974 Encycl. Brit. Micropædia I. 594/3 In early 1796 the assignats were replaced by the mandats territoriaux (land warrants) at the rate of one mandat for 30 assignats. The failure of the mandat to gain public confidence forced the Directory to return to a metallic currency (Feb. 4, 1797).
2. In France: a money order.
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society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > paper money > promissory notes or bills of exchange > [noun] > postal order
post bill1740
money order1802
post-office order1815
order1846
P.O.O.1856
PO1861
postal note1862
postal order1864
mandat1896
M.O.1909
postal draft1929
1896 E. Dowson Let. c15 Mar. (1967) 345 I enclose a mandat for the price & postage, & shall be much obliged if you can get them [sc. newspapers] & post them here.
1939 E. Ambler Mask of Dimitrios xii. 251 I received here a letter from him enclosing a mandat for the three thousand francs.
1994 Stamp Mag. Nov. 153/4 Postal orders. Postal notes, money orders, Bons de Poste, Mandats, related items.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2000; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1796