lettre de cachet

American  

[le-tr^uh duh ka-she] / lɛ trə də kaˈʃɛ /

noun

French.

lettres de cachet plural

1. a letter under the seal of the sovereign, especially one ordering imprisonment, frequently without trial.

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lettre de cachet British  

/ lɛtrə də kaʃɛ /

noun

1. French history a letter under the sovereign's seal, often authorizing imprisonment without trial

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Etymology

Origin of lettre de cachet

literally: letter with a seal

Example Sentences

When he was 16 his father secured a lettre de cachet for him, applied it two years later.*

From Time Magazine Archive

The expulsion of the princes was a crime against liberty; it was as arbitrary an act as the issue of a lettre de cachet.

From France and the Republic A Record of Things Seen and Learned in the French Provinces During the 'Centennial' Year 1889 by Hurlbert, William Henry

As he said this, poor Jean shuddered at the thought of those terrible words about the lettre de cachet.

From The King's Warrant A Story of Old and New France by Engelbach, Alfred H.

The lettre de cachet was granted on September 3; but it was not the Marshal's intention to allow it to be executed at once.

From Queens of the French Stage by Williams, H. Noel

Mr. Zenger was imprisoned by a warrant from the Governor, a lettre de cachet, and "for several days denied the use of pen, ink, and paper, and the liberty of speech with any person."

From The Trial of Theodore Parker For the "Misdemeanor" of a Speech in Faneuil Hall against Kidnapping, before the Circuit Court of the United States, at Boston, April 3, 1855, with the Defence by Parker, Theodore