Indiction - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

in·dic·tion

Audio Help [in-dik-shuh

n] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a proclamation made every 15 years in the later Roman Empire, fixing the valuation of property to be used as a basis for taxation.

2.	a tax based on such valuation.

3.	Also called cycle of indiction. the recurring fiscal period of 15 years in the Roman Empire, long used for dating ordinary events. Compare lustrum.

4.	a specified year in this period.

5.	the number indicating it.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME indiccio(u)n < L indictiōn- (s. of indictiō) announcement, equiv. to indict(us) ptp. of indīcere to announce, proclaim + -iōn- -ion

]

—Related forms

in·dic·tion·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Indiction

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

in·dic·tion Audio Help (ĭn-dĭk'shən) Pronunciation Key
n. A 15-year cycle used as a chronological unit in ancient Rome and incorporated in some medieval systems.

[Middle English indiccioun, from Late Latin indictiō, indictiōn-, proclamation, period of 15 years, from Latin indictus, past participle of indīcere, to proclaim : in-, intensive pref.; see in-² + dīcere, to say; see deik- in Indo-European roots.]

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

indiction
noun
a 15-year cycle used as a chronological unit in ancient Rome and adopted in some medieval kingdoms

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Indiction

In*dic"tion\, n. [L. indictio: cf. F. indiction. See Indict, Indite.]

1. Declaration; proclamation; public notice or appointment. [Obs.] "Indiction of a war." --Bacon.

Secular princes did use to indict, or permit the indiction of, synods of bishops. --Jer. Taylor.

2. A cycle of fifteen years.

Note: This mode of reckoning time is said to have been introduced by Constantine the Great, in connection with the payment of tribute. It was adopted at various times by the Greek emperors of Constantinople, the popes, and the parliaments of France. Through the influence of the popes, it was extensively used in the ecclesiastical chronology of the Middle Ages. The number of indictions was reckoned at first from 312 a. d., but since the twelfth century it has been reckoned from the birth of Christ. The papal indiction is the only one ever used at the present day. To find the indiction and year of the indiction by the first method, subtract 312 from the given year a. d., and divide by 15; by the second method, add 3 to the given year a. d., and the divide by 15. In either case, the quotient is the number of the current indiction, and the remainder the year of the indiction. See Cycle of indiction, under Cycle.

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