assignment

assignment
    n 1: a duty that you are assigned to perform (especially in the
         armed forces); "hazardous duty" [syn: {assignment}, {duty
         assignment}]
    2: the instrument by which a claim or right or interest or
       property is transferred from one person to another
    3: the act of distributing something to designated places or
       persons; "the first task is the assignment of an address to
       each datum" [syn: {assignment}, {assigning}]
    4: (law) a transfer of property by deed of conveyance [syn:
       {grant}, {assignment}]
    5: an undertaking that you have been assigned to do (as by an
       instructor)
    6: the act of putting a person into a non-elective position;
       "the appointment had to be approved by the whole committee"
       [syn: {appointment}, {assignment}, {designation}, {naming}]
    

Assignment \As*sign"ment\, n. [LL. assignamentum: cf. OF.
   assenement.]
   1. An allotting or an appointment to a particular person or
      use; or for a particular time, as of a cause or causes in
      court.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Law)
      (a) A transfer of title or interest by writing, as of
          lease, bond, note, or bill of exchange; a transfer of
          the whole of some particular estate or interest in
          lands.
      (b) The writing by which an interest is transferred.
      (c) The transfer of the property of a bankrupt to certain
          persons called assignees, in whom it is vested for the
          benefit of creditors.
          [1913 Webster]

   {Assignment of dower}, the setting out by metes and bounds of
      the widow's thirds or portion in the deceased husband's
      estate, and allotting it to her.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: Assignment is also used in law as convertible with
         specification; assignment of error in proceedings for
         review being specification of error; and assignment of
         perjury or fraud in indictment being specifications of
         perjury or fraud.
         [1913 Webster]
    

assignment

   <programming> Storing the value of an expression in a
   {variable}.  This is commonly written in the form "v = e".  In
   {Algol} the assignment operator was ":=" (pronounced
   "becomes") to avoid mathematicians qualms about writing
   statements like x = x+1.

   Assignment is not allowed in {functional languages}, where an
   {identifier} always has the same value.

   See also {referential transparency}, {single assignment},
   {zero assignment}.

   (1996-08-19)
    

ASSIGNMENT, contracts. In common parlance this word signifies the transfer
of all kinds of property, real, personal, and mixed, and whether the same be
in possession or in action; as, a general assignment. In a more technical
sense it Is usually applied to the transfer of a term for years; but it is
more properly used to signify a transfer of some particular estate or
interest in lands.
     2. The proper technical words of an assignment are, assign, transfer,
and set over; but the words grant, bargain, and sell, or any other words
which will show the intent of the parties to make a complete transfer, will
amount to an assignment.
     3. A chose in action cannot be assigned at law, though it may be done
in equity; but the assignee takes it subject to all the equity to which it
was liable in the hands of the original party. 2 John. Ch. Rep. 443, and the
cases there cited. 2 Wash. Rep. 233.
     4. The deed by which an assignment is made,, is also called an
assignment. Vide, generally, Com. Dig. h.t.; Bac. Ab. h.t. Vin. Ab. h.t.;
Nelson's Ab. h.t.; Civ. Code of Louis. art. 2612. In relation to general
assignments, see Angell on Assignments, passim; 1 Hate & Wall. Sel. Dec. 78-
85.
     5. By an assignment of a right all the accessories which belong to it,
will pass with it as, if the assignor of a bond had collateral security, or
a lien on property, the collateral security and the lien will pass with the
assignment of the bond. 2 Penn. 361; 3 Bibb, 291; 4 B. Munroe, 529; 2 Drev.
n. 218; 1 P. St. R. 454. 6. The assignment of a thing also carries with it
all that belongs to it by right of accession; if, therefore, the thing
produce interest or rent, the interest or the arrearages of the rent since
the assignment, will belong to the assignee. 7 John. Cas. 90 6 Pick. 360.
    

212 Moby Thesaurus words for "assignment":
      abalienation, accession, accounting for, agency, agentship,
      alienation, allocation, allotment, amortization, amortizement,
      anointing, anointment, answerability, application, appointment,
      apportionment, appropriation, arrogation, ascription, assignation,
      assumption, attachment, attribution, authority, authorization,
      bargain and sale, barter, bequeathal, blame, brevet, busywork,
      care, cession, chalk talk, chare, charge, chore, collocation,
      commendation, commission, commissioning, commitment, conferment,
      conferral, connection with, consecration, consignation,
      consignment, conveyance, conveyancing, coronation, credit, cure,
      deeding, delegated authority, delegation, deliverance, delivery,
      demise, denomination, deployment, deposit, deposition, deputation,
      derivation from, designation, determination, devoir, devolution,
      devolvement, discourse, disposal, disposition, disquisition,
      distribution, duty, earmarking, election, embassy, emplacement,
      empowerment, enfeoffment, entrusting, entrustment, errand,
      etiology, exchange, executorship, exequatur, exercise, exposition,
      factorship, fish to fry, fixing, full power, giving, giving out,
      harangue, homework, homily, honor, imputation, incumbency,
      infeodation, infeudation, instruction, job, job of work,
      jurisdiction, labor, lading, lease and release, lecture,
      lecture-demonstration, legation, legitimate succession, lesson,
      liability, license, lieutenancy, loading, localization, locating,
      location, make-work, mandate, matters in hand, mission, moral,
      moral lesson, morality, moralization, naming, nomination,
      object lesson, obligation, odd job, office, ordainment, ordination,
      packing, palaetiology, piece of work, pinning down, pinpointing,
      placement, placing, plenipotentiary power, position, positioning,
      post, posting, power of attorney, power to act, preachment,
      precision, procuration, project, proxy, purview, putting, recital,
      recitation, reference to, regency, regentship, relegation,
      remanding, reposition, responsibility, saddling, sale, seizure,
      selection, sermon, service, set task, setting aside, settlement,
      settling, signification, situation, skull session, specification,
      spotting, stationing, stint, stipulation, storage, stowage,
      succession, surrender, tabbing, tagging, taking over, talk, task,
      teaching, things to do, trading, transfer, transference,
      transferral, transmission, transmittal, trust, trusteeship,
      usurpation, vesting, vicarious authority, warrant, work