oyez

American  

[oh-yes, oh-yez] / ˈoʊ yɛs, ˈoʊ yɛz /

Or oyes

interjection

1. 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).

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noun

plural

oyesses

1. a cry of “oyez.”

oyez British  

/ -ˈjɛz, əʊˈjɛs /

interjection

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

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noun

1. such a cry

Etymology

Origin of oyez

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

Example Sentences

But focusing on a handful of “big cases” relies on your predicate agreement as a reader that the court that will decide them, with all the oyez and the gravitas, is still behaving, in the main, like a court.

From Slate

A town crier then rang a bell and boomed, as Charles chuckled: "Oyez, oyez, oyez! I officially proclaim Colchester Zoo's newest addition as baby Dara."

From BBC

As the Oyez Project summarizes, the high court held in the 1964 decision that "to sustain a claim of defamation or libel, the First Amendment requires that the plaintiff show that the defendant knew that a statement was false or was reckless in deciding to publish the information without investigating whether it was accurate."

From Salon

The chief had assigned the investigation to Ms. Curley, the marshal, whose best-known task was crying “Oyez, oyez, oyez!” as justices entered the courtroom.

From New York Times

“And that’s just the bad beginning. But, not to worry, I have come up with the happy ending! You see, fellow library lovers, kids all across this wondermous country are eager to prove that they are bibliophilic champions, too. Therefore, oyez, oyez, and hear ye, hear ye.”

From Literature