decretum
decretum (di-kree-t[schwa]m), n. [Latin “a decision having mandatory force”] 1. Roman law. A decision of a magistrate, esp. a judgment by the emperor at first instance or on appeal. • A decretum of the emperor was a type of imperial constitution. 2. Eccles. law. An ecclesiastical law, as distinguished from a secular law. Pl. decreta. […]