• (n.) A writ to commission private persons to do some act in place of a judge, as to examine a witness, etc.
Ded'i·mus noun [ Latin dedimus we have given, from dare to give. So called because the writ began, Dedimus potestatem , etc.] (Law) A writ to commission private persons to do some act in place of a judge, as to examine a witness, etc. Bouvier.