ukase

Here’s a word that was an answer in the New York Times Crossword Puzzle on Saturday. I’ve run across it before but never knew its derivation or pronunciation.

ukase -1. An authoritative order or decree; an edict. 2. A proclamation of a czar having the force of law in imperial Russia. (dictionary.com)

Well, this is embarrassing. It’s from the Russian ukaz meaning edict. I took three years of Russian in college but I guess we never had an edict.

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