Word of the Day

: February 6, 2016

rescript

noun REE-skript

What It Means

1 : a written answer of a Roman emperor or of a pope to a legal inquiry or petition

2 : an official or authoritative order, decree, edict, or announcement

3 : an act or instance of rewriting

rescript in Context

The rescript declared that the lands surrounding the new palace would henceforth belong to the royal family.

"It was noon on August 25 when Japan's Emperor finally broke the silence. His recorded voice was broadcast to the nation, reading the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War." — Jamie Seidel, The Daily Telegraph (Australia), 15 Aug. 2015

Did You Know?

Rescript was first used in the 15th century for the written reply of a sovereign or pope to a question about some matter of law or state, and then for any type of authoritative declaration. Since the 19th century, however, it has also seen use as a synonym of rewrite. Charlotte Brontë, for one, used the word this way in her novel Villette. "I wrote [the letter] three times ... subduing the phrases at every rescript," her narrator confesses.