lettre de cachet
noun
a letter under the seal of the sovereign, especially one ordering imprisonment, frequently without trial.
lettres de cachet
-
pluralof lettre de cachet.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A few summers ago, I searched through ancient lettres de cachet — including private requests for the detention of household members — preserved in rooms set aside in a working police precinct.
From New York Times ● Nov. 23, 2021
The crown disposed of persons by lettres de cachet, of property by confiscation, of the public revenue by imposts.
From History of the French Revolution from 1789 to 1814 by M. (François-Auguste-Marie-Alexis) Mignet
Young Mirabeau had been so immoral and unruly that his father had repeatedly obtained lettres de cachet from the king in order that prison bars might keep him out of mischief.
From A Political and Social History of Modern Europe V.1. by Carlton J. H. Hayes
These notorious orders of arrest were called lettres de cachet, i.e., sealed letters.
From An Introduction to the History of Western Europe by James Harvey Robinson
Hitherto the life of the author had been an extraordinary web of adventures diversified by scandals, lettres de cachet, imprisonment and exile.
From The Anglo-French Entente in the Seventeenth Century by Charles Bastide
