[im-pri-mah-ter, -mey-, -prahy-] 
| 1. | an official license to print or publish a book, pamphlet, etc., esp. a license issued by a censor of the Roman Catholic Church. Compare nihil obstat. |
| 2. | sanction or approval; support: Our plan has the company president's imprimatur. |
| im·pri·ma·tur (ĭm'prə-mä'tŏŏr, -mā'tər) n.
[From New Latin imprimātur, let it be printed, third person sing. present subjunctive passive of Latin imprimere, to imprint; see impress1.] |
imprimatur
(Latin: "let it be printed"), in the Roman Catholic church, a permission, required by contemporary canon law and granted by a bishop, for the publication of any work on Scripture or, in general, any writing containing something of peculiar significance to religion, theology, or morality. Strictly speaking, the imprimatur is nothing more than the permission. But because its concession must be preceded by the favourable judgment of a censor (nihil obstat: "nothing hinders [it from being printed]"), the term has come to imply ecclesiastical approval of the publication itself. Nevertheless, the imprimatur is not an episcopal endorsement of the content, nor is it a guarantee of doctrinal integrity. It does indicate that nothing offensive to faith or morals has been discovered in the work
Learn more about imprimatur with a free trial on Britannica.com.