dispensation: Meaning and Definition of

dis•pen•sa•tion

1. an act or instance of dispensing; distribution.
2. something that is distributed or given out.
3. a certain order, system, or arrangement; administration or management.
4. the old Mosaic, or Jewish, dispensation; the new gospel, or Christian, dispensation.
1. the divine ordering of the affairs of the world.
2. an appointment, arrangement, or favor, as by God.
3. a divinely appointed order or age:the old Mosaic, or Jewish, dispensation; the new gospel, or Christian, dispensation.
5. a dispensing with, doing away with, or doing without something.
6. a dispensation regarding the Lenten fast.
1. a relaxation of law in a particular case granted by a competent superior or the superior's delegate in laws that the superior has the power to make and enforce:a dispensation regarding the Lenten fast.
2. an official document authorizing such a relaxation of law.