The word for today is…

behest (noun):

1 : an authoritative order : command
2 : an urgent prompting

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology : Behest first appeared in Old English and was formed from the prefix be- and the verb hatan (“to command” or “to promise”). While this word was originally used only in the sense of “promise,” it acquired the additional sense of “command” among speakers of Middle English. Among contemporary English speakers, behest is no longer used in the sense of “promise” but rather denotes an authoritative or urgent request or command. Old English hatan also gave English the now-archaic words hest (meaning “command”) and hight (“being called or named”).

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David is a retired surgeon originally from London who came to New Zealand twenty-seven years ago after being delayed in Singapore for thirteen years on leaving the UK. He was coerced into studying Latin...