decretal

American  

[dih-kreet-l] / dɪˈkrit l /

adjective

1. pertaining to, of the nature of, or containing a decree or decrees.

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noun

1. a papal decree authoritatively determining some point of doctrine or church law.

2. Decretals, the body or collection of such decrees as a part of the canon law.

decretal British  

/ dɪˈkriːtəl /

noun

1. RC Church a papal edict on doctrine or church law

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adjective

1. of or relating to a decretal or a decree

Other Word Forms

• decretalist noun

Etymology

Origin of decretal

1350–1400; Middle English < Old French < Late Latin dēcrētālis fixed by decree, equivalent to dēcrēt ( um ) decree + -ālis -al ¹

Example Sentences

He said the decretal had been issued when the Pope had just escaped from St. Angelo, and was angry and exasperated against the Emperor.

From The Divorce of Catherine of Aragon The Story as Told by the Imperial Ambassadors Resident at the Court of Henry VIII by Froude, J.A.

Had this been written by the Benedictines, there would have been every reason to think that though Boniface's decretal itself did not forbid dissection it had unfortunately been so misinterpreted.

From The Popes and Science The History of the Papal Relations to Science During the Middle Ages and Down to Our Own Time by Walsh, James J.

Campeggio had beforehand received private orders, delivered by Campana, to burn the decretal bull with which he was intrusted.

From The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.I., Part C. From Henry VII. to Mary by Hume, David

And all these together, Gratian's decree, Gregory's decretals, the sixth decretal, the Clementine constitutions, and the extravagants of John and his successors, form the corpus juris canonici, or body of the Roman canon law.

From Commentaries on the Laws of England Book the First by Blackstone, William, Sir

He had hoped that his decretal would not be known.

From The Divorce of Catherine of Aragon The Story as Told by the Imperial Ambassadors Resident at the Court of Henry VIII by Froude, J.A.