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.
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         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.
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