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n. 1. a. The act of dispensing. b. Something dispensed. c. A specific arrangement or system by which something is dispensed. 2. An exemption or release from an obligation or rule, granted by or as if by an authority. 3. a. An exemption from a church law, a vow, or another similar obligation granted in a particular case by an ecclesiastical authority. b. The document containing this exemption. 4. Theology a. The divine ordering of worldly affairs. b. A religious system or code of commands considered to have been divinely revealed or appointed. [Medieval Latin dispēnsātiō, dispēnsātiōn-, from Latin, distribution, management, from dispēnsātus, past participle of dispēnsāre, to distribute; see DISPENSE.] dis′pen·sation·al adj. |
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