Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

lettre de cachet

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.00 in modern English

Syllables: let-tre de -ca-chet
IPA

22

Scrabble Score

14

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A warrant issued by the monarch in ancien régime France, especially one which imprisons someone without trial.

Example Sentences

"I lost my temper, and spoke so irreverently of the Grand Monarque, that the next morning I was sent to the Bastile, by virtue of a Lettre de Cachet."
"“Bon Dieu!” thought the old negotiator, “the boy has actually talked the woman round, and she’d get him a wife as she would a toy if Master cried for it. Why are there no such things as lettres-de-cachet—and a Bastille for young fellows of family?”"
"This year the King sent it to Troyes, each member ordered there by an individual lettre de cachet."
"Louis stepped up persecution of prominent Jansenists, using lettres de cachet to imprison the most subversive [...]."

Etymology

From French lettre de cachet.

Inflected Forms

lettres de cachet (plural)

Synonyms

cachet

Questions

What does lettre de cachet mean?: A warrant issued by the monarch in ancien régime France, especially one which imprisons someone without trial.
Where does lettre de cachet come from?: From French lettre de cachet.

How to pronounce lettre de cachet

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “lettre de cachet”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “lettre de cachet”.
Repeat and practice — Say “lettre de cachet” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.