A command or order issued to cancel or reverse a previously given order.
From counter- (against, opposite) + order (a command). 'Counter-' derives from Latin contra-, while 'order' comes from Old French ordre, from Latin ordo meaning 'arrangement' or 'command.'
In military history, counterorders have often changed the course of battles—sometimes a general's countermanded instruction saved lives, but sometimes confusion about which order was valid led to catastrophic mistakes in communication.
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