decree nisi
noun /dɪˌkriː ˈnaɪsaɪ/
/dɪˌkriː ˈnaɪsaɪ/
[singular] (British English, law)- an order from a court that a marriage will end after a fixed amount of time unless there is a good reason why it should not
- She was granted a decree nisi in a five-minute hearing at the divorce court.
Word Originlate 19th cent.: Latin nisi ‘unless’.