soke

American  

[sohk] / soʊk /

noun

Early English Law.

1. the privilege of holding court, usually connected with the feudal rights of lordship.

2. a district over which local jurisdiction was exercised.

---

soke British  

/ səʊk /

noun

1. the right to hold a local court

2. the territory under the jurisdiction of a particular court

---

Etymology

Origin of soke

1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-Latin soca < Old English sōcn attack, right of prosecution, jurisdiction ( see soken); akin to sake ¹, seek

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

soke

I. given to the Deanery of York, w^th the soke thereof and all the chappells and tithes belonging.

From The Evolution of an English Town by Home, Gordon

The long-winded speaker, he spoke; The poor office seeker, he soke; The runner, he ran; The dunner, he dan; And the shrieker, he horribly shroke.

From Buchanan's Journal of Man, November 1887 Volume 1, Number 10 by Buchanan, Joseph R. (Joseph Rodes)

A "soke," or soca, it may be incidentally observed, was the territory in which was exercised the soca, or the privilege of hearing causes and disputes, levying fines, and administering justice within certain limits.

From The Corporation of London, Its Rights and Privileges by Allen, William Ferneley

The rights and privileges attaching to his soke and to his official position in time of peace were considerable, to judge from a claim to them put forward by his grandson in the year 1303.

From London and the Kingdom - Volume I by Sharpe, Reginald R. (Reginald Robinson)

In the meantime eight or ten men have gathered the amole and soke.

From Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2) A Record of Five Years' Exploration Among the Tribes of the Western Sierra Madre; In the Tierra Caliente of Tepic and Jalisco; and Among the Tarascos of Michoacan by Lumholtz, Carl