lettre de cachet

9.9

A letter from the French king that allows putting someone in prison or punishing them without a trial

noun
/ˈlɛtr də kæˈʃeɪ/

Archaic

: carta de cachet

The king issued a lettre de cachet ordering the noble’s immediate imprisonment.

Examples

Many revolutionaries protested against abuses of power like the infamous lettre de cachet.
Under the old regime, a lettre de cachet could ruin a family’s reputation overnight.
The king issued a lettre de cachet to silence his critics.
Many feared the lettre de cachet due to its power.
The king issued a lettre de cachet ordering the noble’s immediate imprisonment.
Many revolutionaries protested against abuses of power like the infamous lettre de cachet.
Under the old regime, a lettre de cachet could ruin a family’s reputation overnight.

Synonyms

cachet

vslettre de cachet

Archaic

1 9.9

A signed royal order that sends someone to prison or death

is the specific signed royal letter used to imprison or punish without trial

Surface Forms

lettre de cachet singular

lettres de cachet plural

Morphology

lettre + de + cachet

The phrase literally means 'letter of the seal' (lettre = letter, de = of, cachet = seal/stamp), so a learner who knows the constituents can infer it denotes an official or sealed royal letter ordering action. However, the precise historical/legal sense — a royal warrant authorizing imprisonment or punishment without trial — is culture-specific and not fully predictable from the literal parts, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Lettre de cachet comes from French and literally names a sealed order, with lettre 'letter' and cachet 'seal'. Kings used a sealed paper with the royal mark to put someone in prison or punish them without a trial, so the phrase came to mean secret, absolute royal power.