The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Commission \Com*mis"sion\, n. [F., fr. L. commissio. See
   Commit.]
   1. The act of committing, doing, or performing; the act of
      perpetrating.
      [1913 Webster]

            Every commission of sin introduces into the soul a
            certain degree of hardness.           --South.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The act of intrusting; a charge; instructions as to how a
      trust shall be executed.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. The duty or employment intrusted to any person or persons;
      a trust; a charge.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. A formal written warrant or authority, granting certain
      powers or privileges and authorizing or commanding the
      performance of certain duties.
      [1913 Webster]

            Let him see our commission.           --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. A certificate conferring military or naval rank and
      authority; as, a colonel's commission.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. A company of persons joined in the performance of some
      duty or the execution of some trust; as, the interstate
      commerce commission.
      [1913 Webster]

            A commission was at once appointed to examine into
            the matter.                           --Prescott.
      [1913 Webster]

   7. (Com.)
      (a) The acting under authority of, or on account of,
          another.
      (b) The thing to be done as agent for another; as, I have
          three commissions for the city.
      (c) The brokerage or allowance made to a factor or agent
          for transacting business for another; as, a commission
          of ten per cent on sales. See Del credere.
          [1913 Webster]

   Commission of array. (Eng. Hist.) See under Array.

   Commission of bankruptcy, a commission appointing and
      empowering certain persons to examine into the facts
      relative to an alleged bankruptcy, and to secure the
      bankrupt's lands and effects for the creditors.

   Commission of lunacy, a commission authorizing an inquiry
      whether a person is a lunatic or not.

   Commission merchant, one who buys or sells goods on
      commission, as the agent of others, receiving a rate per
      cent as his compensation.

   Commission officer or Commissioned officer, (Mil.), one
      who has a commission, in distinction from a
      noncommissioned or warrant officer.

   Commission of the peace, a commission under the great seal,
      constituting one or more persons justices of the peace.
      [Eng.]

   on commission, paid partly or completely by collecting as a
      commision a portion of the sales that one makes.

   out of commission, not operating properly; out of order.

   To put a vessel into commission (Naut.), to equip and man a
      government vessel, and send it out on service after it has
      been laid up; esp., the formal act of taking command of a
      vessel for service, hoisting the flag, reading the orders,
      etc.

   To put a vessel out of commission (Naut.), to detach the
      officers and crew and retire it from active service,
      temporarily or permanently.

   To put the great seal into commission or To put the
   Treasury into commission, to place it in the hands of a
      commissioner or commissioners during the abeyance of the
      ordinary administration, as between the going out of one
      lord keeper and the accession of another. [Eng.]

   The United States Christian Commission, an organization
      among the people of the North, during the Civil War, which
      afforded material comforts to the Union soldiers, and
      performed services of a religious character in the field
      and in hospitals.

   The United States Sanitary Commission, an organization
      formed by the people of the North to cooperate with and
      supplement the medical department of the Union armies
      during the Civil War.

   Syn: Charge; warrant; authority; mandate; office; trust;
        employment.
        [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Commission \Com*mis"sion\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Commissioned;
   p. pr & vb. n. Commissioning.]
   1. To give a commission to; to furnish with a commission; to
      empower or authorize; as, to commission persons to perform
      certain acts; to commission an officer.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To send out with a charge or commission.
      [1913 Webster]

            A chosen band
            He first commissions to the Latian land. --Dryden.

   Syn: To appoint; depute; authorize; empower; delegate;
        constitute; ordain.

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Factorage \Fac"tor*age\, n. [Cf. F. factorage.]
   The allowance given to a factor, as a compensation for his
   services; -- called also a commission.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

commission
    n 1: a special group delegated to consider some matter; "a
         committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours" -
         Milton Berle [syn: committee, commission]
    2: a fee for services rendered based on a percentage of an
       amount received or collected or agreed to be paid (as
       distinguished from a salary); "he works on commission"
    3: the act of granting authority to undertake certain functions
       [syn: commission, commissioning]
    4: the state of being in good working order and ready for
       operation; "put the ships into commission"; "the motor was
       out of commission"
    5: a group of representatives or delegates [syn: deputation,
       commission, delegation, delegacy, mission]
    6: a formal statement of a command or injunction to do
       something; "the judge's charge to the jury" [syn:
       commission, charge, direction]
    7: an official document issued by a government and conferring on
       the recipient the rank of an officer in the armed forces
       [syn: commission, military commission]
    8: the act of committing a crime [syn: perpetration,
       commission, committal]
    9: a special assignment that is given to a person or group; "a
       confidential mission to London"; "his charge was deliver a
       message" [syn: mission, charge, commission]
    v 1: put into commission; equip for service; of ships
    2: place an order for
    3: charge with a task

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

283 Moby Thesaurus words for "commission":
   accomplishment, accredit, achievement, administration, allotment,
   allowance, appoint, assemblee, assembly, assign, assignation,
   assignment, at home, authorize, avails, ball,
   bicameral legislature, bid, big end, bigger half, bit, bite,
   board of aldermen, box office, brawl, budget, busywork, call on,
   call the signals, call upon, caucus, chamber of deputies, chare,
   charge, charter, chore, chunk, city board, city council, cobble,
   colloquium, command, commission, commissions, commit, committee,
   common council, completion, conclave, concourse, condition,
   conduct, congregation, congress, consign, contingent, conventicle,
   convention, convocation, council, court, credit, credits, cut,
   dance, darn, date, deal, declare, decree, delegate, delegation,
   deputation, depute, deputize, designate, designate an agent,
   destiny, detach, detail, devolute, devolve, devolve upon, dictate,
   diet, direct, direction, discharge, dispatch, disposable income,
   dividend, dividends, do up, doctor, dole, duty, earned income,
   earnings, effectuation, eisteddfod, empower, enable, enactment,
   end, enjoin, entrust, equal share, errand, execution, exercise,
   fate, federal assembly, festivity, fete, fish to fry, fix, fix up,
   forgathering, forum, gains, gate, gate receipts, gathering,
   general assembly, get, get-together, give an order, give in charge,
   give the word, gross, gross income, gross receipts, half, halver,
   handling, helping, homework, house of assembly, housewarming,
   implementation, income, injunction, instruct, instruction, intake,
   interest, issue a command, issue a writ, job, job of work, labor,
   legislative assembly, legislative body, legislative chamber,
   legislature, levee, license, lot, lower chamber, lower house, make,
   make-work, management, mandate, matters in hand, measure, meed,
   meet, meeting, mend, mess, mission, modicum, moiety, name,
   national assembly, net, net income, net receipts, nominate,
   odd job, ordain, order, order about, output, overhaul, panel,
   parliament, part, party, patch, patch up, percentage, performance,
   perpetration, piece, piece of work, plenum, portion, post, precept,
   prescript, prescription, proceeds, proclaim, produce, profits,
   project, prom, promulgate, pronounce, proportion,
   provincial legislature, provincial parliament, put in commission,
   put in order, put in repair, put in shape, quantum, quorum, quota,
   rake-off, rally, ration, ready, recap, receipt, receipts,
   receivables, reception, recondition, rendezvous, repair,
   representative town meeting, retread, returns, revenue, royalties,
   royalty, rule, say the word, seance, segment, send out, service,
   session, set to rights, sew up, share, shindig, sit-in, sitting,
   slice, small share, soiree, soviet, stake, state assembly,
   state legislature, stint, stock, subcommittee, symposium, synod,
   take, take-in, takings, task, teaching, things to do, tinker,
   tinker up, town meeting, transaction, transfer, turnout,
   unearned income, unicameral legislature, upper chamber,
   upper house, warrant, work, yield



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

COMMISSION, practice. An instrument issued by a court of, justice, or other
competent tribunal, to authorize a person to take depositions, or do any
other act by authority of such court, or tribunal, is called a commission.
For a form of a commission to take. depositions, see Gresley, Eq. Ev. 72.



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

COMMISSION, contracts, civ. law. When one undertakes, without reward, to do
something for another in respect to a thing bailed. This term is frequently
used synonymously with mandate. (q.v.) Ruth. Inst. 105; Halifax, Analysis
of the Civil Law, 70. If the service the party undertakes to perform for
another is the custody of his goods, this particular sort of, commission is
called a charge.
     2. In a commission, the obligation on his part who undertakes it, is to
transact the business without wages, or any other reward, and to use the
same care and diligence in it, as if it were his own.
     3. By commission is also understood an act performed, opposed to
omission, which is the want of performance of such an act; is, when a
nuisance is created by an act of commission, it may be abated without
notice; but when it arises from omission, notice to remove it must be given
before it is abated. 1 Chit. Pr. 711. Vide Abatement of Nuisances; Branches;
Trees.



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

COMMISSION, office. Persons authorized to act in a certain matter; as, such
a matter was submitted, to the commission; there were several meetings
before the commission. 4 B. & Cr. 850; 10 E. C. L. R. 459.



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

COMMISSION, crim. law. The act of perpetrating an offence. There are crimes
of commission and crimes of omission.



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

COMMISSION, government. Letters-patent granted by the government, under the
public seal, to a person appointed to an office, giving him authority to
perform the duties of his office. The commission is not the appointment, but
only evidence of it; and as soon as it is signed and sealed, vests the
office in the appointee. 1 Cranch, 137; 2 N. & M. 357; 1 M'Cord, 233, 238.
See Pet. C. C. R. 194; 2 Summ. 299; 8 Conn. 109; 1 Penn. 297; 2 Const. Rep.
696; 2 Tyler, 235.