imprimatur

[ im-pri-mah-ter, -mey-, -prahy- ]

/ ˌɪm prɪˈmɑ tər, -ˈmeɪ-, -praɪ- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR imprimatur ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an official license to print or publish a book, pamphlet, etc., especially a license issued by a censor of the Roman Catholic Church.Compare nihil obstat.

sanction or approval; support: Our plan has the company president's imprimatur.

RELATED WORDS

charter, permission, permit, sanction

Nearby words

impressive aphasia, impressment, impressure, imprest, imprest fund, imprimatur, imprimis, imprint, imprinter, imprinting, imprison

Origin of imprimatur

1630–40; < New Latin: let it be printed, Latin: let it be made by pressing upon (something); see impress¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for imprimatur

What makes CEOs think that putting their imprimatur on a political movement will increase public pressure on the two parties?
Starbucks’ Effort to Solve the Fiscal Cliff Probably Won’t Work|Daniel Gross|December 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
From a Wall Street perspective, Buffett got privileged, and not level-playing-field, access as a payoff for his imprimatur.
Obama Extols Warren Buffett as Hero, But to Wall Street He’s No Angel|Zachary Karabell|January 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
They are the silent traytors that affront majesty, and abuse all authority, under the colour of an Imprimatur.
Microcosmography|John Earle
He took a small case from his pocket, and presented a card to him, and also papers which revealed the imprimatur of the company.
The Man Who Rose Again|Joseph Hocking

His book came into the public hands stamped with the imprimatur of official recognition.
Charles Darwin|Grant Allen
For the present, buy—buy whatever has received the imprimatur of critical authority.
Literary Taste: How to Form It|Arnold Bennett
The Vice-Chancellor's imprimatur (for it was printed at Oxford) is dated the 19th, 1713.
Lives of the Poets: Gay, Thomson, Young, and Others|Samuel Johnson

British Dictionary definitions for imprimatur

imprimatur

/ (ˌɪmprɪˈmeɪtə, -ˈmɑː-) /

noun

RC Church a licence granted by a bishop certifying the Church's approval of a book to be published

sanction, authority, or approval, esp for something to be printed

Word Origin for imprimatur

C17: New Latin, literally: let it be printed

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012