oyez

or o·yes

[oh-yes, oh-yez]

interjection

hear! attend! (a cry uttered usually twice by a court officer to command silence and attention, as before court is in session, and formerly by public criers).

noun, plural oyesses.

a cry of “oyez.”

Origin of oyez

1375–1425; late Middle English < Anglo-French, plural imperative of oyer; see oyer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for oyes

Historical Examples of oyes

Then was there a solemne Oyes made, and silence commanded, and then presently beganne their seuere and cruell iudgement.
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of the English Nation, Volume XIV (of 16)
Richard Hakluyt
Oyes ce Docteur muet estudie en ce livre Qui nuict et jour ouvert t'apprendra de bien vivre.
The Works of Sir Thomas Browne (Volume 1 of 3)
Thomas Browne
It was at this point the heralds cried their "Oyes," and our conversation was at an end for the time.
When Knighthood Was in Flower
Charles Major

British Dictionary definitions for oyes

oyez

oyes

interjection

a cry, usually uttered three times, by a public crier or court official for silence and attention before making a proclamation

noun

such a cry

Word Origin for oyez

C15: via Anglo-Norman from Old French oiez! hear!

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

Word Origin and History for oyes

oyez

interj.

early 15c., from Anglo-French oyez "hear ye!" (late 13c., Old French oiez), a cry uttered (usually thrice) to call attention, from Latin subjunctive audiatis, plural imperative of audire "to hear" (Anglo-French oier; see audience).