assize

[ uh-sahyz ]
/ əˈsaɪz /

noun

Usually assizes. a trial session, civil or criminal, held periodically in specific locations in England, usually by a judge of a superior court.
an edict, ordinance, or enactment made at a session of a legislative assembly.
an inquest before members of a jury or assessors; a judicial inquiry.
an action, writ, or verdict of an assize.
judgment: the last assize; the great assize.
a statute for the regulation and control of weights and measures or prices of general commodities in the market.

Origin of assize

1250–1300; Middle English asise < Old French: a sitting, noun use of feminine of asis seated at (past participle of aseeir), equivalent to a- a-5 + -sis < Latin sēssum ( sed- stem of sedēre to sit1 + -tus past participle suffix)

Words nearby assize

assisted respiration, assisted suicide, assistive, assistive technology, assiut, assize, assizes, assn, assn., assoc., associable

Words related to assizes

tribunal, decree, court, ordinance, enactment, inquest, rule, hearing, trial, session, measure, assembly

Example sentences from the Web for assizes

British Dictionary definitions for assizes (1 of 2)

assizes
/ (əˈsaɪzɪz) /

pl n

(formerly in England and Wales) the sessions, usually held four times a year, of the principal court in each county, exercising civil and criminal jurisdiction, attended by itinerant judges: replaced in 1971 by crown courts

British Dictionary definitions for assizes (2 of 2)

assize
/ (əˈsaɪz) /

noun

(in the US)
  1. a sitting of a legislative assembly or administrative body
  2. an enactment or order of such an assembly
English history a trial or judicial inquest, the writ instituting such inquest, or the verdict
Scots law
  1. trial by jury
  2. another name for jury 1

Word Origin for assize

C13: from Old French assise session, from asseoir to seat, from Latin assidēre to sit beside; see assess