Imprimatur (Lat., ‘let it be printed’). The permission granted in Roman Catholicism by the appropriate authority for the approved publication of certain religious works. Canon law no longer requires any book on a religious subject to seek the imprimatur, but it encourages such books to be submitted for approval (cf. haskamah in Judaism). The imprimatur requires the prior nihil obstat (‘nothing obstructs’) of the officially appointed censor before it can be issued.

im·pri·ma·tur / ˌimprəˈmätər; -ˈmātər/ • n. an official license by the Roman Catholic Church to print an ecclesiastical or religious book. ∎  [in sing.] a person's acceptance or guarantee that something is of a good standard: the original LP enjoyed the imprimatur of the composer.

imprimatur an official licence issued by the Roman Catholic Church to print an ecclesiastical or religious book; from the Latin ‘let it be printed’.

IMPRIMATUR

[Latin, Let it be printed.] A license or allowance, granted by the constituted authorities, giving permission to print and publish a book. This allowance was formerly necessary in England before any book could lawfully be printed, and in some other countries is still required.

imprimatur licence to print given by the L. formula imprimātur let it be printed, 3rd sg. pres. subj. pass. of imprimere; see IMPRINT. XVII.