dictum

Definition

An authoritative statement; a dogmatic saying; a maxim, an apothegm.

Etymology

From Latin dictum (“proverb, maxim”), from dictus (“having been said”), perfect passive participle of dico (“I say”). Compare Spanish dicho (“saying”). Doublet of dict.

Example Sentences

• "This should not surprise us who know that van Gogh wrote: 'To paint and to love women is incompatible'; van Gogh was right for himself, which does not mean that he was right for everybody, and I will not draw from his dictum the probably incorrect conclusion that 'To paint and to love literature is incompatible.'"
• "[…]a dictum which he had heard an economics professor once propound[…]"
• "1. The utmost in steam producing capacity permitted by weight and dimensions; in other words, capacity to boil water—H. A. Ivatt's old dictum."