quarter sessions

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noun Law.

an English court of general criminal jurisdiction for crimes less than homicide, held quarterly.

(in the U.S.) a court with limited criminal jurisdiction, having local administrative powers in some states.

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Origin of quarter sessions

First recorded in 1570–80

Words nearby quarter sessions

quarter rest, quarter round, quarters, quartersaw, quarter section, quarter sessions, quarterstaff, quarter tone, quarter-wave plate, quartet, quartic

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

How to use quarter sessions in a sentence

Officials have said the war to reclaim upward of a third of Iraq and a quarter of Syria from ISIS could take years.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War|Nancy A. Youssef|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
By contrast, John McCain, the eventual GOP nominee, had raised approximately $12.7 million in the first quarter of 2007 alone.
Can Huckabee Convert the GOP’s Moneymen?|Lloyd Green|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But in more middle-class and working-class neighborhoods, sessions are typically a fourth of that price.
Iran’s Becoming a Footloose Nation as Dance Lessons Spread|IranWire|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Most if not all professional dungeons offer sessions exclusively with female dominants.
Dungeons and Genital Clamps: Inside a Legendary BDSM Chateau|Ian Frisch|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

There was always time in our work sessions for stories and anecdotes.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At a quarter past seven he took his leave and we let drop our anchor where we were, off Cape Tekke.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Kum Kale has been a brilliant bit of work, though I fear we have lost nearly a quarter of our effectives.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Almost one-quarter of the total supply printed has been placed in circulation.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
This Peal (by the Rules aforesaid) may be Rang with any whole hunt, half hunt, and quarter hunt.
Tintinnalogia, or, the Art of Ringing|Richard Duckworth and Fabian Stedman
He could go and live over in the Latin Quarter—that 's the desire of his heart—and think of nothing but old bottles.
Confidence|Henry James

British Dictionary definitions for quarter sessions

quarter sessions

noun (functioning as singular or plural)

(in England and Wales, formerly) a criminal court held four times a year before justices of the peace or a recorder, empowered to try all but the most serious offences and to hear appeals from petty sessions. Replaced in 1972 by crown courtsSee also crown court Compare assizes

(in Scotland, formerly) a court held by justices of the peace four times a year, empowered to hear appeals from justice of the peace courts and to deal with some licensing matters: abolished in 1975

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