- imprimatur
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/im'pri mah"teuhr, -may"-, -pruy-/, n.1. an official license to print or publish a book, pamphlet, etc., esp. a license issued by a censor of the Roman Catholic Church. Cf. nihil obstat.2. sanction or approval; support: Our plan has the company president's imprimatur.[1630-40; < NL: let it be printed, L: let it be made by pressing upon (something); see IMPRESS1]
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(Latin: “let it be printed”), in the Roman Catholic church, a permission, required by contemporary canon law and granted by a bishop, for the publication of any work on Scripture or, in general, any writing containing something of peculiar significance to religion, theology, or morality. Strictly speaking, the imprimatur is nothing more than the permission. But because its concession must be preceded by the favourable judgment of a censor (nihil obstat: “nothing hinders [it from being printed]”), the term has come to imply ecclesiastical approval of the publication itself. Nevertheless, the imprimatur is not an episcopal endorsement of the content, nor is it a guarantee of doctrinal integrity. It does indicate that nothing offensive to faith or morals has been discovered in the work.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
