presidial court

noun

variants or presidial

: a court of justice under the ancien régime in French cities without a parliament

Word History

Etymology

presidial court partial translation of French cour présidial, from Middle French cour presidial, alteration (influenced by Late Latin praesidialis of a garrison) of cour presidal, from cour court + presidal being a presidial court, from Late Latin praesidalis of a provincial governor; presidial from French présidial, from présidial, adjective (in the term cour présidial)

Love words?

You must — there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you are looking for one that’s only in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary.

Start your free trial today and get unlimited access to America's largest dictionary, with:

• More than 250,000 words that aren't in our free dictionary
• Expanded definitions, etymologies, and usage notes
• Advanced search features
• Ad free!