oyer and terminer

[ tur-muh-ner ]

/ ˈtɜr mə nər /

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noun Law.

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

British.

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

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Origin of oyer and terminer

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

Words nearby oyer and terminer

oy, Oyama, Oyashio Current, oyelet, oyer, oyer and terminer, oyez, -oyl, Oyo, oyster, Oyster Bay

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use oyer and terminer in a sentence

As an example of good science-and-society policymaking, the history of fluoride may be more of a cautionary tale.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yes, Byrd—dead four-and-a-half years now—was a Kleagle in the Ku Klux Klan.
Steve Scalise and the Right’s Ridiculous Racial Blame Game|Michael Tomasky|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Later that night, that same black-and-red banner would be seen again—in the column of marchers chanting for dead cops.
The Monsters Who Screamed for Dead Cops|Jacob Siegel|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The kids are out of school, Mom is out of get-up-and-go, Dad is out of work.
Congress’ Gift That Keeps on Giving|P. J. O’Rourke|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She also practises etching, pen-and-ink drawing, as well as crayon and water-color sketching.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
No law of that country must exceed in words the number of letters in their alphabet, which consists only in two-and-twenty.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
Mr. Spurrell came down to see a horse, and we shall be very glad to have the benefit of his opinion by-and-by.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various
They were eaten too quickly, in long gulps of four-and-twenty hours at a time.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
He walked over to the table and mixed two tumblers of whiskey-and-soda, wondering why he had not thought of it before.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton

British Dictionary definitions for oyer and terminer

oyer and terminer

/ (ˈtɜːmɪnə) /

noun

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

the court in which such a hearing was held

(in the US) a court exercising higher criminal jurisdiction

Word Origin for oyer and terminer

C15: from Anglo-Norman, from oyer to hear + terminer to judge

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