From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Edict \E"dict\, noun [L. edictum, fr. edicere, edictum, to declare, proclaim; e out + dicere to say: cf. F. ['e]dit. See {Diction}.] A public command or ordinance by the sovereign power; the proclamation of a law made by an absolute authority, as if by the very act of announcement; a decree; as, the edicts of the Roman emperors; the edicts of the French monarch.
It stands as an edict in destiny. --Shak.
{Edict of Nantes} (French Hist.), an edict issued by Henry IV. (A. D. 1598), giving toleration to Protestants. Its revocation by Louis XIV. (A. D. 1685) was followed by terrible persecutions and the expatriation of thousands of French Protestants.
Syn: Decree; proclamation; law; ordinance; statute; rule; order; manifesti; command. See {Law}.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: a formal or authoritative proclamation
2: a legally binding command or decision entered on the court record (as if issued by a court or judge); "a friend in New Mexico said that the order caused no trouble out there" [syn: {decree}, {fiat}, {order}, {rescript}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
70 Moby Thesaurus words for "edict": act, announcement, annunciation, appointment, bill, brevet, bull, bulletin board, bylaw, canon, circular, communique, declaration, decree, decree-law, decreement, decretal, decretum, dictate, dictation, dictum, diktat, directive, edictum, enactment, encyclical, enunciation, fiat, form, formality, formula, formulary, institution, instrument, ipse dixit, jus, law, legislation, lex, manifesto, measure, notice, notification, order, ordinance, ordonnance, position paper, precept, prescript, prescription, proclamation, program, programma, pronouncement, pronunciamento, public notice, regulation, report, rescript, rubric, rule, ruling, senatus consult, senatus consultum, standing order, statement, statute, ukase, white book, white paper
Define.com is a registered nonprofit corporation dedicated solely to the global public interest and the advancement of humanity. It belongs to all of us who have a desire to promote electronic democracy, science, creativity, imagination, reason, critical thinking, peace, race and gender equality, civil rights, equal access to education, personal liberty, free speech, animal rights, compassionate and nonviolent parenting, social and economic justice, global monetary reform, Secular Humanism, cognitive liberty and a permanent cessation of The War on Drugs.
Let's see what we can do if we put our heads together.
0