Edict \E"dict\, n. [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.
[1913 Webster]
It stands as an edict in destiny. --Shak.
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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.
[1913 Webster]
Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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