​CONSIGNMENT (from consign, Fr. consigner, Lat. consignare, to affix a signum, seal; whence, in Late Lat., to hand over, transmit), generally, the delivery or transmission of any person or thing for safe custody, e.g. of a malefactor to prison, or of a horse to the care of a groom. In law, consignment is used of the sending or transmitting of goods to a merchant or factor for sale. The person who consigns the goods is called the consignor, and the person residing at the port of delivery or elsewhere to whom the goods are to be delivered when they arrive there is called the consignee. See further Affreightment.