dictum
noun /ˈdɪktəm/
/ˈdɪktəm/
(plural dicta
(formal) /ˈdɪktə/
/ˈdɪktə/
, dictums)- a statement that expresses something that people believe is always true or should be followed
- the dictum that ‘In politics, there are no friendships.’
- Every storyteller should remember Aristotle’s dictum that a story must have a beginning, a middle and an end.
Word Originlate 16th cent.: from Latin, literally ‘something said’, neuter past participle of dicere.