lettre de cachet

English - English

Definition of lettre de cachet in English English dictionary

A warrant issued by the monarch in ancien régime France, especially one which imprisons someone without trial

This year the King sent it to Troyes, each member ordered there by an individual lettre de cachet.

A warrant formerly issued by a French king who could warrant imprisonment or death in a signed letter under his seal, (synonym) cachet

(French: "letter with a seal") Letter bearing an official seal, signed by the king and countersigned by a secretary of state, used primarily to authorize someone's imprisonment without trial. An important instrument of administration under the ancien régime in France, lettres de cachet were greatly abused in the 17th-18th century. Their use was abolished in 1790

Hyphenation

lettre de ca·chet