- edict
- c.1300, "proclamation having the force of law," from L. edictum, neut. pp. of edicere "publish, proclaim," from e- "out" + dicere "to say" (see diction).
- ban (n.1)
- "edict of prohibition," from ban (v.). O.E. (ge)bann meant "proclamation, summons, command."
- ukase
- 1729, "decree issued by a Russian emperor," from Rus. ukaz "edict," from ukazat' "to show, decree," from O.C.S. ukazati, from u-, intens. prefix, + kazati "to show, order," which is related to the first element of Casimir.
- refugee
- 1685, from Fr. refugié, prop. pp. of refugier "to take shelter, protect," from O.Fr. refuge (see refuge). First applied to Fr. Huguenots who migrated after the revocation (1685) of the Edict of Nantes. The word meant "one seeking asylum," till 1914, when it evolved to mean "one fleeing home" (first applied in this sense to civilians in Flanders heading west to escape fighting in World War I).
- bull (2)
- "papal edict," c.1300, from L. bulla "sealed document" (cf. O.Fr. bulle, It. bulla), originally the word for the seal itself, from bulla "round swelling, knob," said ultimately to be from Gaulish, from PIE *beu-, a base supposed to have formed words associated with swelling (cf. Lith. bule "buttocks," M.Du. puyl "bag").
- program (n.)
- 1633, "public notice," from L.L. programma "proclamation, edict," from Gk. programma (gen. programmatos) "a written public notice," from stem of prographein "to write publicly," from pro- "forth" + graphein "to write." General sense of "a definite plan or scheme" is recorded from 1837. Meaning "list of pieces at a concert, playbill" first recorded 1805 and retains the original sense. That of "objects or events suggested by music" is from 1854. Sense of "broadcasting presentation" is from 1923. Computer sense (n.,v.) is from 1945; hence programmer "person who programs computers," attested from 1948. Spelling programme, sometimes preferred in Britain, is from French and began to be used early 19c. The verb in the fig. sense of "to train to behave in a predetermined way" is from 1963.