/kahrt" blanch", blahnch"/ ; Fr. /kannrddt blahonnsh"/ , pl. cartes blanches /kahrts" blanch", blahnch"/ ; Fr. /kannrddt blahonnsh"/ .
1. unconditional authority; full discretionary power.
2. a sheet of paper that is blank except for a signature and given by the signer to another person to write in what he or she pleases.
3. Cards. a hand having no face card but with a special scoring value, as in piquet.
[ 1645-55; ]