From Latin 'edictum' (a proclamation) — 'e-' (out) + 'dicere' (to say). A declaration spoken out to the public.
An official order or proclamation issued by a person in authority, especially a ruler or government.
From Latin 'ēdictum' (a proclamation, an order), the neuter past participle of 'ēdīcere' (to proclaim, to declare publicly), from 'ē-' (out) + 'dīcere' (to say, to speak). The PIE root is *deyḱ- (to point out, to show), which also produced Greek 'deiknynai' (to show) and is the ancestor of a vast family including 'dictate,' 'verdict,' 'predict,' 'contradict,' and 'benediction.' An edict was literally something 'spoken out' — a public pronouncement. Key roots