interdict

[noun in-ter-dikt; verb in-ter-dikt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR interdict ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

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.

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)

to forbid; prohibit.

Ecclesiastical. to cut off authoritatively from certain ecclesiastical functions and privileges.

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

Origin of interdict

1250–1300; (noun) < Latin interdictum prohibition, noun use of neuter of interdictus past participle of interdīcere to forbid, equivalent to inter- inter- + -dic- (variant stem of dīcere to speak) + -tus past participle suffix; replacing Middle English enterdit < Old French < Latin, as above; (v.) < Latin interdictus; replacing Middle English enterditen < Old French entredire (past participle entredit) < Latin, as above

Related formsin·ter·dic·tor, nounun·in·ter·dict·ed, adjective

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

Related Words for interdict

prohibit, inhibit, halt, prevent, forbid, proscribe, stop, veto, ban, taboo, outlaw

Examples from the Web for interdict

Contemporary Examples of interdict

Foreign security sector support can and should include efforts to interdict poachers.
The Curse of CAR: Warlords, Blood Diamonds, and Dead Elephants
Christopher Day
May 25, 2014

Historical Examples of interdict

These notices were rather a protest than an interdict, and were so understood.
The History of Tasmania, Volume I (of 2)
John West
Have I acted in this in accordance with your wishes—or do you interdict the publication?
The Story of My Life
Egerton Ryerson
The Empress laid an interdict on the half of my income and pension.
The Life and Adventures of Baron Trenck
Baron Trenck
In June the King's commission requested the removal of the interdict.
John Hus
William Dallmann
No bishop with his interdict, no Pope with his "thunders from the Vatican."
Hubert's Wife
Minnie Mary Lee

British Dictionary definitions for interdict

interdict

noun (ˈɪntəˌdɪkt, -ˌdaɪt)

RC Church the exclusion of a person or all persons in a particular place from certain sacraments and other benefits, although not from communion

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

Scots law an order having the effect of an injunction

Roman history

an order of a praetor commanding or forbidding an act
the procedure by which this order was sought

verb (ˌɪntəˈdɪkt, -ˈdaɪt) (tr)

to place under legal or ecclesiastical sanction; prohibit; forbid

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

Derived Formsinterdictive or interdictory, adjectiveinterdictively, adverbinterdictor, noun

Word Origin for interdict

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

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

Word Origin and History for interdict

late 13c., from Old French entredit, past participle of entredire "forbid by decree," from Latin interdicere "interpose by speech, prohibit," from inter- "between" (see inter-) + dicere "to speak, to say" (see diction). Related: Interdicted; interdicting.