quarter sessions

plural noun

: a former English local court with limited original and appellate criminal and sometimes civil jurisdiction and often administrative functions held quarterly usually by two justices of the peace in a county or by a recorder in a borough

Examples of quarter sessions in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Critics have called for the office to be abolished and its functions picked up by the courts, in the same way that the position of clerk of quarter sessions was ended in 2010. Craig R. McCoy, Philly.com, 3 Apr. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1538, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of quarter sessions was in 1538

Dictionary Entries Near quarter sessions

Cite this Entry

“Quarter sessions.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quarter%20sessions. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on quarter sessions

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!