Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A high judicial officer in medieval England.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pertaining to the law; legal; relating to the administration of justice.
  • noun An administrator of justice; a justice or judge.
  • noun In early English history, the chief administrator of both government and justice.
  • noun In theology, one who trusts in the justice or uprightness of his own conduct.
  • noun Administration of justice or of criminal law; judiciary.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Old Eng. Law) An old name for the judges of the higher English courts.
  • noun (Scots Law) the supreme criminal court, having jurisdiction over the whole of Scotland.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun obsolete A justiciar
  • noun obsolete The office of a justiciar

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun formerly a high judicial officer
  • noun the jurisdiction of a justiciar

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Medieval Latin iūstitiāria, from feminine of iūstitiārius, of the administration of justice, from Latin iūstitia, justice; see justice.]

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Examples

  • The Edinburgh high court of justiciary heard that Taylor had "no concept" of how dangerous it was to give a child methadone.

    Couple jailed for giving baby methadone 2010

  • These were the officers of justice, with a warrant of justiciary to search for and apprehend Euphemia, or Effie Deans, accused of the crime of child-murder.

    The Heart of Mid-Lothian 2007

  • Personally, I felt that I was responsible, but not guilty, but try to put that defense before the safos and the justiciary.

    Flash ModesittJr_LE 2004

  • From a child this Frank had been a donought that his father, a headborough, who could ill keep him to school to learn his letters and the use of the globes, matriculated at the university to study the mechanics but he took the bit between his teeth like a raw colt and was more familiar with the justiciary and the parish beadle than with his volumes.

    Ulysses 2003

  • At the hotel waited a bunch of urgent matters: some death sentences, a new justiciary, a famine in barley for the morrow if the train did not work.

    Seven Pillars of Wisdom Thomas Edward 2003

  • Limtoc the general, Lalcon the chamberlain, and Balmuff the grand justiciary have prepared articles of impeachment against you, for treason and other capital crimes.

    Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 5 Charles Herbert Sylvester

  • The astonished lord justiciary asked the foreman, how it was possible to find the prisoner not guilty, with such overwhelming evidence, and was answered: "Becaase, my laird, she is purty."

    The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 03, No. 17, March, 1859 Various

  • II., was issued for arrears due to him since he was "justice and chancellor, and even lieutenant of the justiciary, as well in the late king's time as of the present king's."

    Notes and Queries, Number 192, July 2, 1853 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc Various

  • In legislative and justiciary acts the Latin names are still retained.

    Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4 "Bulgaria" to "Calgary" Various

  • The inflexibility of the justiciary lords, or their known integrity, form a fine incident in history; for the Scottish nation was at this period, ridden by Court faction, and broken down by recent oppression and massacre.

    Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715 and 1745 Volume II. Mrs. Thomson

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