admiralty

American  

[ad-mer-uhl-tee] / ˈæd mər əl ti /

noun

admiralties plural

1. the office or jurisdiction of an admiral.

2. the officials or the department of state having charge of naval affairs, as in Great Britain.

3. a court dealing with maritime questions, offenses, etc.

4. maritime law.

5. the Admiralty, the official building, in London, of the British commissioners for naval affairs.

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adjective

1. of or relating to admiralty law.

admiralty British  

/ ˈædmərəltɪ /

noun

1. the office or jurisdiction of an admiral

2. 1. jurisdiction over naval affairs

   2. ( as modifier )

      admiralty law

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• admiralties
  plural

Etymology

Origin of admiralty

1300–50; Middle English amiralty < Middle French. See admiral, -ty ²

Example Sentences

But the judge questioned whether Congress can strip courts of their own admiralty jurisdiction over a shipwreck, something that has centuries of legal precedent.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 13, 2024

During her career, she has built up a substantial catalog of work, including Wikipedia articles about admiralty law and one for journalists killed during the Russo-Ukrainian war—a page that, sadly, has been growing.

From Slate • Jun. 16, 2022

He reported his findings in confidence to the British admiralty, but they made their way into a newspaper.

From BBC • Mar. 21, 2019

The admiralty asked John Franklin, a 59-year-old polar explorer, to find a northern sea path linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

From Washington Post • Nov. 22, 2016

Not until 1930, when a young Washington admiralty lawyer and keen hiker named Myron Avery took over the development of the project, did work actually begin, but suddenly it moved on apace.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson