From Dictionary.com
Main Entry: fi·at
Pronunciation: 'fE-"ät, -"at, -&t; 'fI-"at
Function: noun
1 : DECREE
2 : an authoritative but arbitrary order <a brazen act of judicial fiat —L. H. Tribe>
Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
fiat
fiat was Word of the Day on January 5, 2002.
Source: Dictionary.com Word of the Day
fiat
\Fi"at\, n. [L., let it be done, 3d pers. sing., subj. pres., fr. fieri, used as pass. of facere to make. Cf. Be.] 1. An authoritative command or order to do something; an effectual decree.
His fiat laid the corner stone. --Willis.
2. (Eng. Law) (a) A warrant of a judge for certain processes. (b) An authority for certain proceedings given by the Lord Chancellor's signature.
Fiat money, irredeemable paper currency, not resting on a specie basis, but deriving its purchasing power from the declaratory fiat of the government issuing it.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
fiat
n : a legally binding command or decision entered on the court record (as if issued by a court or judge); "a friend in New Mexico said that the order caused no trouble out there" [syn: decree, edict, order, rescript]
Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University
