| Part of Speech | Definition | |
| Verb | 1. Present participle conjugation of the verb assize.[Eve - graph theoretic] | |
| Verb Base (assize) | 1. To assess; to value; to rate.[Websters]. 2. To fix the weight, measure, or price of, by an ordinance or regulation of authority.[Websters]. 3. Base verb from the following inflections: assizing, assized, assizes, assizer, assizers, assizingly and assizedly.[Eve - graph theoretic] | |
Sources: compiled from various sources, (under license) copyright 2008. | Top | |
Date "ASSIZING" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1914. (references) |
Specialty Definition: assize
| Domain | Definition | ||
| Law | ASSIZE, Eng. law. 1. This was the name of an ancient court; it derived its name from assideo, to sit together. Litt. s. 234; Co. Litt. 153 b., 159 b. It was a kind of jury before which no evidence was adduced, their verdict being regarded as a statement of facts, which they knew of their own knowledge. Bract. iv. 1, 6. 2. The name of assize was also given to a remedy for the restitution of a freehold, of which the complainant had been disseized. Bac. Ab. h.t. Assizes were of four kinds: Mort d'ancestor Novel Disseisin Darrien Presentment; and Utrum. Neale's F. & F. 84. This remedy has given way to others less perplexed and more expeditious. Bac. Ab. h.t.; Co. Litt. 153-155. 3. The final judgment for the plaintiff in an assize of Novel Disseisin, is, that he recover per visum recognitorum, and it is sufficiently certain. if the recognitors can put the demandant in possession. Dyer, 84 b; 10 Wentw. PI. 221, note. In this action, the plaintiff cannot be compelled to be nonsuited. Plowd. 11 b. See 17 Serg. & R. 187; 1 Rawle, Rep. 48, 9. 4. There is, however, in this class of actions, an interlocutory judgment, or award in the nature of a judgment, and which to divers intents and purposes, is a judgment; 11 Co. Rep. 40 b; like the judgment of quod computet, in account render; or quod partitio flat, in partition; quod mensuratio fiat; ouster of aid; award of a writ of inquiry, in waste.; of damages in trespass; upon these and the like judgments, a writ of error does not lie. 11 Co. Rep. 40 a; Metcalf's Case, 2 Inst. 344 a: 24 Ed. III, 29 B 19. (references) | ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | Top | ||
Common Expressions: assize
| Expressions | Definition | ||
| Assize Court | The Courts of Assize, or Assizes, is the name of criminal courts in several countries. In France, Belgium and Italy the court is still in use. The Assizes is the highest court. (references) | ||
| Assize of Clarendon | The Assize of Clarendon was an act of King Henry II of England of 1166, whereby trial by jury became the norm in England, replacing unfair alternatives such as trial by combat. (references) | ||
| Assize of Northampton | The Assize of Northampton, largely based on the Assize of Clarendon of 1166, is among a series of measures taken by King Henry II of England which solidified the rights of the knightly tenants and made all possession of land subject to and guaranteed by royal law. (references) | ||
| Black Assize | The Black Assize was a plague that struck the town of Oxford in England in 1557. About 300 people are thought to have died as a result of the plague. Itr received its name because it was believed to have been caught from prisoners under trial at the Assize Court. (references) | ||
| Court of assize | The county courts of England (replaced in 1971 by Crown courts). Source: Wordnet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. | ||
| Maiden assize | (Eng. Law), an assize which there is no criminal prosecution; an assize which is unpolluted with blood. It was usual, at such an assize, for the sheriff to present the judge with a pair of white gloves. --Smart. Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. | ||
| Manchester assize courts | The Manchester assize courts were law courts once located in Strangeways, Manchester in England. Designed by Alfred Waterhouse, they were demolished in the 1950s due to heavy damage caused during World War 2. (references) | ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | Top | ||
Specialty Expressions: assize
| Expressions | Domain | Definition | |
| Afforce, afforcement of the assize | Law | AFFORCE, AFFORCEMENT OF THE ASSIZE, Old English law, practice. An ancient practice in trials by jury, which is explained by Bracton, (fo. 185, b. 292 a) and by the author of Fleta, lib. 4, cap. 9, 2. It consisted in adding other jurors to the panel of jurors, after the cause had been committed to them, in case they could not agree in a verdict. The author of Fleta (ubi sup) thus describes it. The oath having been administered to the jury, the (prenotarius) prothonotary, addressed them thus: "You will say upon the oath you have taken, whether such a one unjustly and without judgment disseized such a one of his freehold in such a ville within three years or not." The justices also repeat for the instruction of, the jurors the plaint of the plaintiff, &c. The jurors then retire and confer together, &c.;If the jurors differ among themselves and cannot agree in one (sententiam) finding, it will be in the discretion of the judges, &c; to afforce the assize by others, provided there remain of the jurors summoned many as the major party of the dissenting jurors; or they may compel the same jurors to unanimity, viz. by directing the sheriff to keep them safely without, meat or drink until they agree. The object of adding to the panel a number equal to the major party of the dissenting jurors, was to ensure a verdict by twelve of them, if the jurors thus added to the panel should concur with the minor party of the dissenting jurors. This practice of afforcing the assize, was in reality a second trial of the cause, and was abandoned, because the courts found it would save delay and trouble by insisting upon unanimity. The practice of confining jurors without meat and drink in order to enforce unanimity, has in more modern times also been abandoned and the more rational practice adopted of discharging the jury and summoning a new one for the trial of the cause, in cases where they cannot agree. This expedient for enforcing unanimity was probably introduced from the canon law, as we find it was resorted to on the continent, in other cases where the unanimity of a consultative or deliberative body was deemed indispensable. See Barring. on Stats. 19, 20; 1, Fournel, Hist. des Avocats, 28, note. (references) | |
| ASSIZE OF MORT D' ANCESTOR | Law | ASSIZE OF MORT D' ANCESTOR. The name, of an ancient writ, now obsolete. It might have been sued out by one whose father, mother, brother, &c., died seized of lands, and tonements, which they held in fee, and which, after their death, a stranger abated. Reg. Orig. 223. See Mort d' Ancestor. (references) | |
| Black Assize | Literature | 1: July 6th, 1577, when a putrid pestilence broke out at Oxford during the time of assize. 2: Shakespeare: King John, iv. 2. 3: Not painted with the crimson spots of blood." 4: (A). One in which there is no person to be brought to trial. We have also the expressions maiden tree, one never lopped; maiden fortress, one never taken; maiden speech; etc. In a maiden assize, the sheriff of the county presents the judge with a pair of white gloves. White gloves symbolise innocence. Maiden primarily means unspotted, unpolluted, innocent; thus Hubert says to the king- 5: Is yet a maiden and an innocent hand, 6: "This hand of mine. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | Top | ||
Topics by Level of Interest: assize | ||||
| Topics sorted by level of Interest | Level (1=low, 600=high) | Topics sorted Alphabetically | Level (1=low, 600=high) | |
| Assize Court | 12 | Assize Court | 12 | |
| Assize of Bread and Ale | 11 | Assize of Arms | 9 | |
| Assize of Clarendon | 9 | Assize of Bread and Ale | 11 | |
| Assize of Arms | 9 | Assize of Clarendon | 9 | |
| Court of Assize (Belgium) | 5 | Assize of darrein presentment | 4 | |
| Assize of novel disseisin | 4 | Assize of mort d'ancestor | 4 | |
| Assize of darrein presentment | 4 | Assize of Northampton | 3 | |
| Black Assize | 4 | Assize of novel disseisin | 4 | |
| Assize of mort d'ancestor | 4 | Black Assize | 4 | |
| Assize of Northampton | 3 | Bloody Assize (1814) | 3 | |
| Bloody Assize (1814) | 3 | Court of Assize (Belgium) | 5 | |
| Manchester Assize Courts | 3 | Manchester Assize Courts | 3 | |
Source: the editor, created by/for EVE to gauge likely levels of human interest in linguistically triggered topics (compiled across various sources, such as Wikipedia and specialty expression glosses). | ||||
