Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - sanction

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin ~-, sanctio, from sancire to make holy — more at sacred  Date: 15th century  1. a formal decree; especially an ecclesiastical decree  2.  a. obsolete a solemn agreement ; oath  b. something that makes an oath binding  3. the detriment, loss of reward, or coercive intervention annexed to a violation of a law as a means of enforcing the law  4.  a. a consideration, principle, or influence (as of conscience) that impels to moral action or determines moral judgment  b. a mechanism of social control for enforcing a society's standards  c. explicit or official approval, permission, or ratification ; approbation  5. an economic or military coercive measure adopted usually by several nations in concert for forcing a nation violating international law to desist or yield to adjudication  II. transitive verb  (~ed; ~ing)  Date: 1778  1. to make valid or binding usually by a formal procedure (as ratification)  2. to give effective or authoritative approval or consent to  Synonyms: see approve  • ~able adjective