To Admi'nister. v.a. [administro, Lat.]
- To give; to afford; to supply.
Let zephyrs bland
Administer their tepid genial airs;
Naught fear he from the west, whose gentle warmth
Discloses well the earth's all-teeming womb. Philips. - To act as the minister or agent in any employment or office; generally, but not always, with some hint of subordination, to administer the government.
For forms of government let fools contest,
Whate'er is best administer'd, is best. Pope's Essay on Man. - To administer justice.
- To administer the sacraments.
Have not they the old popish custom of administering the blessed sacrament of the holy eucharist with wafer-cakes? Hooker, b. iv. § 10.
- To administer an oath.
Swear by the duty that you owe to heav'n,
To keep the oath that we administer. Shakesp. Richard II. - To administer physick.
I was carried on men's shoulders, administering physick and phlebotomy. Wafers's Voyage.
- To administer to; to contribute; to bring supplies.
I must not omit, that there is a fountain rising in the upper part of my garden, which forms a little wandering rill, and administers to the pleasure, as well as the plenty, of the place. Spectator, № 477.
- To perform the office of an administrator, in law. See Administrator.
Neal's order was never performed, because the executors durst not administer. Arbuthnot and Pope's Martin. Scribler.