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oyer and terminer

American  
[tur-muh-ner] / ˈtɜr mə nər /

noun

Law.

  1. (in some U.S. states) any of various higher criminal courts.

  2. British.

    1. a commission or writ directing the holding of a court to try offenses.

    2. the court itself.

oyer and terminer British  
/ ˈtɜːmɪnə /

noun

  1. English law (formerly) a commission issued to judges to try cases on assize. It became obsolete with the abolition of assizes and the setting up of crown courts in 1972

  2. the court in which such a hearing was held

  3. (in the US) a court exercising higher criminal jurisdiction

"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

Etymology

Origin of oyer and terminer

1375–1425; late Middle English < Anglo-French: literally, to hear and determine

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.