dictum

noun

Etymology: From Latin dictum (“proverb, maxim”), from dictus (“having been said”), perfect passive participle of dico (“to say”). Compare Spanish dicho (“saying”). Doublet of dict.

1. An authoritative statement; a dogmatic saying; a maxim, an apothegm.

   “This should not surprise us who know that van Gogh wrote: 'To paint and to love women is incompatible'; van Gogh was right for himself, which does not mean that he was right for everybody, and I will not draw from his dictum the probably incorrect conclusion that 'To paint and to love literature is incompatible.'”

   “[…]a dictum which he had heard an economics professor once propound[…]”

2. A judicial opinion expressed by judges on points that do not necessarily arise in the case, and are not involved in it.
3. The report of a judgment made by one of the judges who has given it.
4. An arbitrament or award.