The Collaborative International Dictionary
Fiat \Fi"at\, n. [L., let it be done, 3d pers. sing., subj. pres., fr. fieri, used as pass. of facere to make. Cf. Be.]
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An authoritative command or order to do something; an effectual decree.
His fiat laid the corner stone.
--Willis. -
(Eng. Law)
A warrant of a judge for certain processes.
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An authority for certain proceedings given by the Lord Chancellor's signature.
Fiat money, irredeemable paper currency, not resting on a specie basis, but deriving its purchasing power from the declaratory fiat of the government issuing it.
Wiktionary
n. (context economics English) money that is given legal value or made legal tender for money debts by government fiat.
WordNet
n. money that the government declares to be legal tender although it cannot be converted into standard specie
Wikipedia
Fiat money is a currency established as money by government regulation or law. The term derives from the Latin fiat ("let it become", "it will become") used in the sense of an order or decree. It differs from commodity money and representative money. Commodity money is created from a good, often a precious metal such as gold or silver, which has uses other than as a medium of exchange (such a good is called a commodity), while representative money simply represents a claim on such a good.
The first use of fiat money was recorded in China around 1000 AD. Since then, it has been used by various countries, concurrently with commodity currencies.
Usage examples of "fiat money".
If you hang onto that excess and come back later, you will usually find-invariably, so far as I recall-that inflation or war or taxes or changes in government or something has wiped out the alleged value of fiat money you may have kept.
The year he was born (1879) the Federal government spent $274,000,000-an expensive year, as we resumed paying specie for the Greenback Inflation, $346,700,000 of fiat money.
The year he was born (1879) the Federal government spent $274,000,000 - an expensive year, as we resumed paying specie for the Greenback Inflation, $346,700,000 of fiat money.