petty jury

noun

(in a civil or criminal proceeding) a jury, usually of 12 persons, impaneled to determine the facts and render a verdict pursuant to the court's instructions on the law.
Also petit jury.
Also called traverse jury.
Compare grand jury.

Origin of petty jury

First recorded in 1680–90

OTHER WORDS FROM petty jury

petty juror, noun

Words nearby petty jury

pettle, petty, petty bourgeois, petty bourgeoisie, petty cash, petty jury, petty larceny, petty officer, petty sessions, petty-fitzmaurice, petulance

Example sentences from the Web for petty jury

  • In short, he is a very sensible man; shoots flying; and has been several times foreman of the petty-jury.

    Days with Sir Roger De Coverley |Joseph Addison and Richard Steele

British Dictionary definitions for petty jury

petty jury

noun

a variant spelling of petit jury

Derived forms of petty jury

petty juror, noun