oyer

[ oh-yer, oi-er ]

/ ˈoʊ yər, ˈɔɪ ər /

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noun Law.

a hearing in open court involving the production of some document pleaded by one party and demanded by the other, the party pleading the document being said to make profert.

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Origin of oyer

1375–1425; late Middle English <Anglo-French; Old French oïr to hear <Latin audīre

Words nearby oyer

oxyuriasis, oy, Oyama, Oyashio Current, oyelet, oyer, oyer and terminer, oyez, oy gevalt, -oyl, Oyo

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

How to use oyer in a sentence

The great Oyer of poisoning was, however, calculated to make a very deep impression on the public mind.
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 442|Various
It was held, in accordance with the Virginian act, by a commission of oyer and terminer, appointed by the governor.
Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period|Various
I always become enthusiastic oyer the rugged grandeur of some Canadian rivers with which I am familiar.
Fishing With The Fly|Charles F. Orvis and Others
Then Mrs. Gwynne stopped, put her hand oyer her eyes for a moment, removed it, and looked earnestly at her guest.
Olive|Dinah Maria Craik, (AKA Dinah Maria Mulock)

Her hand passed caressingly oyer my face, and in a few minutes I was asleep, and slept as I had not slept for many weeks past.
The Strange Adventure Of James Shervinton|Louis Becke

British Dictionary definitions for oyer

oyer

/ (ɔɪə) /

noun

English legal history (in the 13th century) an assize

(formerly) the reading out loud of a document in court

See oyer and terminer

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