{{short description|English-language interjection announcing the opening of a legal court}} {{About|the Anglo-Norman word still used traditionally in law|the web database|Oyez Project|the type of judicial commission|Oyer and terminer}} {{redirect|Hear ye|the album by the Red Mitchell-Harold Land|Hear Ye!}}
[[File:Have bell will travel. Peter Moore, Town Crier to the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority … promotions, parades, openings etc. (1388747790).jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Peter Moore (town crier)|Peter Moore]], [[Town Crier]] to the [[Mayor of London]] and the [[Greater London Authority]], 2007]] '''Oyez''' ({{IPAc-en|oʊ|ˈ|j|ɛ|z}}, {{IPAc-en|oʊ|ˈ|j|eɪ}}, {{IPAc-en|oʊ|ˈ|j|ɛ|s}}; more rarely with the word stress at the beginning) is a traditional [[interjection]] said two or three times in succession to introduce the opening of a [[court of law]]. The interjection was also traditionally used by [[town crier]]s to attract the attention of the public to public proclamations.<ref name="yahoo1">[http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/oyez American Heritage Dictionary] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224100348/http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/oyez |date=December 24, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oyez|title=Definition of OYEZ|website=www.merriam-webster.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/oyez|title=Oyez definition and meaning - Collins English Dictionary|website=www.collinsdictionary.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/oyez?q=oyez|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224110240/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/oyez?q=oyez|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 24, 2013|title=oyez - Definition of oyez in English by Oxford Dictionaries|website=Oxford Dictionaries - English}}</ref>
==History== Until the 18th century, speaking [[English language|English]] in an English court of law was not required and one could instead use [[Law French]], a form of [[French language|French]] that evolved after the [[Norman Conquest]], when [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]] became the language of the upper classes in [[England]]. ''Oyez'' descends from the Anglo-Norman ''oyez'', the plural [[Imperative mood|imperative]] form of ''oyer'', from [[French language|French]] ''ouïr'', "to hear"; thus ''oyez'' means "hear ye" and was used as a call for silence and attention. It was common in [[Britain in the Middle Ages|medieval England]],<ref name="yahoo1"/> and France.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bdl.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/bdl/gabarit_bdl.asp?id=4040|title=Banque de dépannage linguistique - Oyez|website=bdl.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca}}</ref>
==Current usage==
===United Kingdom=== In the [[United Kingdom]], the Common Crier of the [[City of London]] shouts the phrase for all of the city's public proclamations, most notably the opening and closing of the Common Halls for the elections of the lord mayor and the sheriffs at [[Guildhall, London|Guildhall]]. His other duties include the reading of the proclamation [[Dissolution of the Parliament of the United Kingdom|dissolving Parliament]] from the steps of the [[Royal Exchange, London|Royal Exchange]] in London. Traditionally, a proclamation is delivered to the [[Mansion House, London|Mansion House]] from the [[Privy Council Office (United Kingdom)|Privy Council Office]], at which point it is given to the Common Crier, who proceeds to read it publicly.{{cn|date=May 2020}}
The phrase is also used by the [[Beadle]] at the start of a [[Wardmote]] in [[wards of the City of London]]: "Oyez, oyez, oyez. All manner of persons who have anything to do at this Court of Wardmote for the Ward of [''ward name''] holden here this day before Alderman [''name''], Alderman of this Ward, draw near and give your attendance. God save the King."
===United States=== The term is still in use by the [[Supreme Court of the United States]]. At the beginning of each session, the [[Marshal of the United States Supreme Court]] strikes a gavel and announces:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://supremecourthistory.org/htcw_oralargument.html|title=How The Court Works - Oral Argument|website=The Supreme Court Historical Society|access-date=2020-10-18|archive-date=2020-12-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206002051/http://supremecourthistory.org/htcw_oralargument.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> {{Blockquote|source=|text=The Honorable, the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! All persons having business before the Honorable, the Supreme Court of the United States, are admonished to draw near and give their attention, for the Court is now sitting. God save the United States and this Honorable Court.|author=|title=}}
The phrase is also in use in other federal courts, such as the following: * [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]] * [[United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit]] * [[United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit]] * [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit]] * [[United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas]] * [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania]] * [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia]] * [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana]]
The phrase is also in use in the state courts of [[Connecticut]], [[Virginia]], [[North Carolina]], and [[Maryland]].
In addition to courts, the word, again repeated three times, is announced by the [[Secretary of the State of Connecticut|Secretary of the State]] during the ''[[Adjournment sine die|sine die]]'' ceremony at the conclusion of the [[Connecticut General Assembly|Connecticut General Assembly's]] [[Legislative session#State legislatures|legislative session]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Session Scheduling Rules |url=https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/content/Adjourn.asp |website=Connecticut General Assembly}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lohman |first=Judith. |date=April 20, 2004 |title=Sine Die Adjournment Ceremonies |url=https://www.cga.ct.gov/2004/rpt/2004-R-0406.htm |website=Connecticut General Assembly Office of Legislative Research}}</ref>
==See also== * [[Law French]] * [[French language]] * [[Norman language]] * [[List of French expressions in English]] * [[Jersey Legal French]] * [[Franglais]]
==References== <references />
==External links== {{Wiktionary|oyez}} * [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9724365 Sound clips of several bailiffs in North Carolina (NPR.org)] * {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Oyez|short=x}}
[[Category:Town criers]] [[Category:Court administration]] [[Category:British traditions]] [[Category:Supreme Court of the United States]] {{US government sources}}