Gebots

Gebots is a German noun with several related meanings that center on the ideas of instruction, command, or offer. It stems from the verb gebieten, meaning to command or order, and historically covers both authoritative directions and prescriptive norms as well as offers in competitive contexts.

The primary senses of Gebot include:

- an instruction or directive issued by an authority, such as a rule, guideline, or moral precept;

- in a religious context, the Ten Commandments, collectively referred to as die Zehn Gebote, and more generally any religious or ethical commandment;

- in auctions and procurement, the act of placing an offer or bid. In this usage, one speaks of a bid (ein Gebot abgeben) and of terms such as das höchste Gebot (the highest bid) or ein Gebot annehmen/ablehnen (to accept or reject a bid).

In legal and contractual settings, Gebot can denote the prescriptive requirements that parties must follow, or the terms reflected in a bidding process. The concept underpins procedures for procurement, tenders, and auctions, where competing bids determine the outcome and price.

In modern usage, the standard plural form is Gebote. Gebots appears mainly in older or formal/canonical text, where it may function as a genitive singular form or occur in historical spellings. For everyday language, Gebote is the common plural, while Gebot remains the singular form.

Summary: Gebots encompasses command, rule, and ethical obligation as well as the practical notion of a bid in auctions and procurement, with the plural Gebote typical in contemporary German.