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oyez. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
oyez, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
oyez in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
oyez you have here. The definition of the word
oyez will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
oyez, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From Middle English oyes, from Old French oyez, the imperative plural of oir (“hear; listen”), from Latin audīre.
Commonly folk-etymologized as (and pronounced homophonously to) O + yes in the early modern period.
Pronunciation
Interjection
oyez
- Hear ye. Attend. (Called by public criers or in court usually three times to secure silence and/or attentiveness).
Usage notes
- It is still used in the United States Supreme Court, similar to calling “order”, and in many state supreme courts, though some lower courts have dropped its use.
Noun
oyez (plural oyezes)
- A cry of "oyez".
Verb
oyez (no third-person singular simple present, no present participle, no simple past or past participle)
- (transitive, rare) To proclaim with a cry of "oyez".
1599, Nashe, Nashes Lenten Stuffe, , London: [Thomas Judson and Valentine Simmes] for N L and C B , →OCLC, page 3:I truſte you make no queſtion about thoſe dull pated pennifathers, that in ſuch dudgen ſcorne reiected him, drunck deep of the ſowre cup of repentance for it, when the high flight of his lines in common brute was ooyeſſed.
References
- Webster's International Dictionary: 1902.
- Concise Oxford: 1981.
Anagrams
French
Pronunciation
Verb
oyez
- second-person plural imperative of ouïr
Old French
Verb
oyez
- second-person plural present indicative of oir
- second-person plural imperative of oir