Although it would have been much heard in Medieval England, it is first recorded as an English word fairly late in the Middle English period, in a work composed around 1425. A related phrase, which is more likely to actually be. PACKING the court is a term coined by President Franklin D Roosevelt that refers to a law that allows more justices to be added to the US Supreme Court. Oyez descends from the Anglo-Norman Oyez, the plural imperative of oyer, 'to hear' thus Oyez means 'hear ye' and was used as a call for silence and attention. Its in the subjunctive mood and just means something like I hope what I am about to say finds you well. "Hearing the cry 'Oyez, Oyez, Oyez' (Listen here) in a courtroom may have puzzled more than one auditor, especially if pronounced 'o-yes.' This cry serves to remind us that up until the 18th century, speaking English in a British court of law was not required and that one could use Law French, a form of French that evolved after the Norman Conquest, when Anglo-Norman became the language of the official class in England. The origin of the word "Oyez" is Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, hear ye, the plural imperative of oyer, to hear, which derives from the Latin verb, audire, to hear. I looked up the origin of oyez out of curiosity based on your comment. May it please your majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place May it please your grace, Antipholus, my husband Centuries ago you would have seen it outside the courtroom as well. ![]() I realize I'm talking around the question you're asking regarding origin a little bit, but I'm doing that to convince you that it probably doesn't have "an origin," it's just a normal part of the way people used to talk. The court is the judge or judges who are in charge of the way a legal case happens and sometimes make decisions about it. ![]() I think clients and judges expect attorneys to be on their grammatically best behavior, so you see people using these older ways of speaking. ![]() Especially in a court room, you would hear it a lot, because the subjunctive is used in formal but indirect commands and requests, like "I request that your client be present tomorrow" or "I ask that the court grant our motion." Today, there is definitely a tolerance even among educated people of the slow merger of the indicative and subjunctive moods("He could have driven better if he was sober" vs "if he were sober"), but not so much in the court room. May his countenance shine upon you."Īs to the use and origin, it comes from a time when generally the subjunctive was more widely used. Here are some other old formulaic phrases in the subjunctive mood: It's in the subjunctive mood and just means something like "I hope what I am about to say finds you well." A related phrase, which is more likely to actually be worked into a courtroom colloquy rather than just spat out as the first thing said without thinking about it is "If it please the court."
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