drumhead court-martial

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noun

a court-martial held, usually on a battlefield, for the summary trial of charges of offenses committed during military operations.

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Origin of drumhead court-martial

First recorded in 1825–35; so called from the use of a drumhead as a table during the court-martial

Words nearby drumhead court-martial

drum corps, drumette, drumfire, drumfish, drumhead, drumhead court-martial, drumhead service, drum into someone's head, drum kit, drumlin, drumly

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use drumhead court-martial in a sentence

A drumhead court-martial sentenced the young Virginian to receive one hundred lashes on the bare back.
Hero Stories from American History|Albert F. Blaisdell
In the back of his head there formed a little picture—a drumhead court-martial, a provost guard, a tree and a rope.
The Long Roll|Mary Johnston
So they contended, and both were brought before the drumhead Court Martial.
A Girl of the Commune|George Alfred Henty
Summary procedure made it easy to decide that the sentence of drumhead court-martial was death.
The New York Times Current History: the European War, February, 1915|Various

We then took six of the leaders, and, holding a drumhead court-martial, sentenced them to be hanged.
The Dispatch Carrier and Memoirs of Andersonville Prison|William N. Tyler

British Dictionary definitions for drumhead court-martial

drumhead court-martial

noun

a military court convened to hear urgent charges of offences committed in action

Word Origin for drumhead court-martial

C19: from the use of a drumhead as a table around which the court-martial was held

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012