interdict

[ noun in-ter-dikt; verb in-ter-dikt ]
See synonyms for: interdictinterdicted on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. Civil Law. any prohibitory act or decree of a court or an administrative officer.

  2. Roman Catholic Church. a punishment by which the faithful, remaining in communion with the church, are forbidden certain sacraments and prohibited from participation in certain sacred acts.

  1. Roman Law. a general or special order of the Roman praetor forbidding or commanding an act, especially in cases involving disputed possession.

verb (used with object)
  1. Ecclesiastical. to cut off authoritatively from certain ecclesiastical functions and privileges.

  1. to impede by steady bombardment: Constant air attacks interdicted the enemy's advance.

Origin of interdict

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; (noun) from Latin interdictum “prohibition,” noun use of neuter of interdictus, past participle of interdīcere “to forbid,” equivalent to inter- “between, among, together” + -dic- (variant stem of dīcere “to speak”) + -tus past participle suffix; replacing Middle English enterdit, from Old French, from Latin, as above; (verb) from Latin interdictus; replacing Middle English enterditen, from Old French entredire (past participle entredit ), from Latin, as above; see inter-

Other words from interdict

  • in·ter·dic·tor, noun
  • un·in·ter·dict·ed, adjective

Words Nearby interdict

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use interdict in a sentence

  • Is reason so largely developed in the great mass of men that the priests should interdict its use as dangerous?

    Letters To Eugenia | Paul Henri Thiry Holbach

British Dictionary definitions for interdict

interdict

noun(ˈɪntəˌdɪkt, -ˌdaɪt)
  1. RC Church the exclusion of a person or all persons in a particular place from certain sacraments and other benefits, although not from communion

  2. civil law any order made by a court or official prohibiting an act

  1. Scots law an order having the effect of an injunction

  2. Roman history

    • an order of a praetor commanding or forbidding an act

    • the procedure by which this order was sought

verb(ˌɪntəˈdɪkt, -ˈdaɪt) (tr)
  1. to place under legal or ecclesiastical sanction; prohibit; forbid

  2. military to destroy (an enemy's lines of communication) by firepower

Origin of interdict

1
C13: from Latin interdictum prohibition, from interdīcere to forbid, from inter- + dīcere to say

Derived forms of interdict

  • interdictive or interdictory, adjective
  • interdictively, adverb
  • interdictor, noun

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