Dictum
An authoritative pronouncement — a saying with the weight of a verdict.
A dictum is a short, authoritative pronouncement. The Latin literally means 'a thing said,' but in practice a dictum carries more weight than a casual remark: it is the saying of someone whose authority on the subject is recognised, and it is meant to settle, not merely to suggest.
Dicta are common in law (where the obiter dictum is a judge's incidental remark) and in criticism (where a critic's dictum becomes a rule of taste). They differ from maxims in that a maxim is general guidance and a dictum is a ruling.
The risk of dicta is the risk of all authority: the line outlives the situation that produced it, and gets quoted in places where it no longer applies.
“De minimis non curat lex — the law does not concern itself with trifles.”
Keep reading the glossary
A short rule for conduct, usually stated as a general principle.
A short, sharp statement that compresses a truth or observation into a single line.
A passage repeated verbatim from a written or spoken source, with attribution.
A traditional saying that expresses a generally accepted truth — almost always anonymous.