Definition of ukase
1
:a proclamation by a Russian emperor or government having the force of law
2
:edict
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Examples of ukase in a Sentence
she brazenly ignored the company's ukase about entering by the back door
Recent Examples of ukase from the Web
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Trump must have felt quite confident in issuing his ukase.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ukase.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
ukase Has Russian Roots
English speakers adopted ukase more or less simultaneously from French (ukase) and Russian (ukaz) in the early 18th century. The word can be traced further back to the Russian verb ukazat', meaning "to show" or "to order," and its ultimate source is an ancient root that led to similar words in Latin, Sanskrit, and Old Church Slavic. A Russian ukase was a command from the highest levels of government that could not be disobeyed. But by the early 19th century, English speakers were also using ukase generally for any command that seemed to come from a higher authority, particularly one that was final or arbitrary.
Origin and Etymology of ukase
French & Russian; French, from Russian ukaz, from ukazat' to show, order; akin to Old Church Slavonic u- away, Latin au-, Sanskrit ava- and to Old Church Slavonic kazati to show
ukase Synonyms
Synonyms
bull, decree, diktat, directive, fiat, rescript, ruling, edictRelated Words
call, conclusion, decision, deliverance, determination, diagnosis, judgment (or judgement), opinion, resolution, verdict; announcement, declaration, dictum, manifesto, proclamation, pronouncement; canon, encyclicalOther Legal Terms
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