Ukase:
A ukase, or ukaz (/juːˈkeɪs/;[1] Russian: указ [ʊˈkas], formally “imposition”), in Imperial Russia, was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leader (patriarch) that had the force of law. “Edict” and “decree” are adequate translations using the terminology and concepts of Roman law.
From the Russian term, the word ukase has entered the English language with the meaning of “any proclamation or decree; an order or regulation of a final or arbitrary nature”. [Wikipedia]
Noted in “Trump’s first year: A damage assessment,” Tom Nichols, WaPo:
[Trump] is everything, in fact, except our chief magistrate and the head of the executive branch of our government. Rather than feeling bound by the Constitution “to take care that the laws are faithfully executed,” Trump sits atop a structure of laws and norms he attacks daily. Courts? How dare they impede his executive ukazes. The Justice Department, the FBI, the CIA? Disasters. All part of the “deep state.” And the First Amendment? An annoyance that needs to be cleared up by rewriting libel laws to protect those in power from a free press.
A clever little usage, no?
