Interdictory

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A prohibition or ban imposed by a legal authority that restricts certain activities or actions
2. Acting as a means to forbid or prevent certain behaviors or actions
3. Functioning to impose a restriction or ban on specified practices

Etymology: "Interdictory" is a plain English formation: the adjective "interdict" with the suffix "-ory" added. The noun "interdict" comes from Latin "interdictum," a prohibition or injunction, built from "inter-" (between, apart) and "dicere" (to say, declare) and with the sense of "forbidding" developed in Latin law. Through Old French "entredit," it reached English, where "interdict" has long meant a formal prohibition, especially a ban issued by a church authority. The suffix "-ory" comes from Latin "-torius" through Old French "-oire" and Middle English "-orie," and it turns a verb-root into an adjective meaning "serving to" or "having the character of." Joining it to "interdict" produces a word that describes something that works to impose a ban, rather than the ban itself. The formation is a regular one, so the term is a clear example of how English builds descriptive adjectives from existing words.

Synonyms: prohibitive, forbidding, restrictive, preventive, interdicted

Antonyms: permissive, allowing, permitted, facilitative, encouraging