the.com/decree
a sentence that becomes law the instant someone powerful enough finishes saying it
means An official order or decision issued by someone with authority, carrying the force of law.
from From Latin 'decretum,' a thing decided, from 'decernere' — to decide or determine, built from 'de-' (intensifying) plus 'cernere,' to sift or separate. The image underneath is judgment as sieving: shaking the options until only the chosen one is left. It reached English through Old French 'decret' in the medieval period, already wearing its robes of legal and ecclesiastical authority.
- royal flex
- Roman emperors' decrees became binding without any debate
- papal weight
- Church decrees once redrew the map between Spain and Portugal
- divorce flavor
- A divorce decree is a judge's final word ending marriage
- word roots
- From Latin decretum, meaning something decided and settled
- absolute power
- Rule by decree bypasses legislatures entirely, a dictator favorite
edict of nantes — french royal decree of 1598 granting religious tolerance to huguenots
papal bull unam sanctam — pope boniface viii's 1302 decree asserting papal supremacy over monarchs
emancipation proclamation — lincoln's 1863 executive decree freeing enslaved people in confederate states