fiat

See also: Fiat, FIAT, and fiât

English

Etymology

From Latin fīat (“let it be done”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfaɪæt/ or IPA^(key): /ˈfi.æt/
• Rhymes: -æt

Noun

fiat (plural fiats)

1. An arbitrary or authoritative command or order to do something; an effectual decree.
   • 1788, Alexander Hamilton, Federalist no. 73

     The reflection that the fate of a fellow-creature depended on his sole fiat, would naturally inspire scrupulousness and caution; [...]

   A royal fiat.

   A presidential fiat.

2. Authorization, permission or (official) sanction.

   A government fiat.

   To rule by fiat.

3. (English law) A warrant of a judge for certain processes.
4. (English law) An authority for certain proceedings given by the Lord Chancellor's signature.

Translations

An authoritative command or order to do something; an effectual decree

• Bulgarian: указ (bg) m (ukaz), декрет (bg) m (dekret)
• German: Anordnung (de) f, Befehl (de) m, Erlass (de) m, Vorschrift (de) f, Fiat n
• Hungarian: rendelet (hu), parancs (hu), utasítás (hu)

• Portuguese: decreto (pt) m
• Swedish: dekret (sv) n, påbud (sv) c

Authorization, permission or (official) sanction.

• German: Ermächtigung (de) f, Erlaubnis (de) f, Genehmigung (de) f, Zustimmung (de) f, Billigung f

• Portuguese: sanção (pt) m

Derived terms

• fiat money
• fiat currency

Verb

fiat (third-person singular simple present fiats, present participle fiating, simple past and past participle fiated)

1. (transitive, used in academic debate and role-playing games) To make (something) happen.

Quotations

• For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:fiat.

References

• fiat in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for fiat in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)

Anagrams

• fita

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Catalan

Verb

fiat

1. past participle of fiar

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Latin

Verb

fīat

1. third-person singular present active subjunctive of fiō
2. third-person singular present passive subjunctive of faciō