ADMINISTRA'TION, noun

1. The act of administering; direction; management; government of public affairs; the conducting of any office or employment.

2. The executive part of government, consisting in the exercise of the constitutional and legal powers, the general superintendence of national affairs, and the enforcement of laws.

3. The persons collectively, who are entrusted with the execution of laws, and the superintendence of public affairs; the chief magistrate and his council; or the council alone, as in Great Britain.

4. dispensation; distribution; exhibition; as the administration of justice, of the sacrament, or of grace.

1 Corinthians 12:5. 2 Corinthians 9:12.

5. the management of the estate of an intestate person, under a commission from the proper authority. This management consists in collecting debts, paying debts and legacies, and distributing the property among the heirs.

6. The power, office or commission of an administrator.

Surrogates are authorized to grant administration

It is more usual to say, letters of administration

7. This name is given by the Spaniards, to the staple magazine or warehouse, at Callao, in Peru, where foreign ships must unload.