early 15c., "a criminal hearing of causes," from Anglo-French oyer, Old French oir, oier, from Latin audire "to hear" (from PIE root *au- "to perceive"). Especially in phrase oyer and terminer (early 15c., but from late 13c. in Anglo-Latin and Anglo-French), literally "a hearing and determining," in England a court of judges of assize, in some U.S. states a higher criminal court.
c. 1300, curteis, "having elegant manners, well-bred, polite, urbane," also "gracious, benevolent," from Old French curteis (Modern French courtois) "having courtly bearing or manners," from curt "court" (see court (n.)) + -eis, from Latin -ensis.
Rare before c. 1500. In feudal society, also denoting a man of good education (hence the name Curtis). Medieval courts were associated with good behavior and also beauty; compare German hübsch "beautiful," from Middle High German hübesch "beautiful," originally "courteous, well-bred," from Old Franconian hofesch, from hof "court." Related: Courteously (mid-14c., kurteis-liche).
wife of Orpheus in Greek mythology, from Latinized form of Greek Eurydike, literally "wide justice," from eurys "wide" (see eury-) + dike "custom, usage; justice, right; court case," "custom, usage," and, via the notion of "right as dependent on custom," "law, a right; a judgment; a lawsuit, court case, trial; penalty awarded by a judge," from PIE *dika-, from root *deik- "to show," also "pronounce solemnly."
c. 1600, one of the ten divisions of each of the three ancient Roman tribes; also "the Senate-house of Rome," from Latin curia "court," perhaps from *co-wiria "community of men" (from PIE root *wi-ro- "man"). The sense was transferred to the papal court (by 1825). Related: Curial.
type of European flowering plant, 1550s, from Latin alysson, from Greek alysson, which is perhaps the neuter of adjective alyssos "curing madness," from a- "not, without" (see a- (3)) + lyssa "madness, martial rage, fury," an abstract word probably literally "wolf-ness" and related to lykos "wolf" (see wolf (n.)); but some see a connection with "light" words, in reference to the glittering eyes of the mad.
"whole body of lawyers, the legal profession," 1550s, a sense which derives ultimately from the railing that separated benchers from the hall in the Inns of Court (see bar (n.1)). Students who had attained a certain standing were "called" to it to take part in the important exercises of the house. After c. 1600, however, this was popularly assumed to mean the bar in a courtroom, the wooden railing marking off the area around the judge's seat, where prisoners stood for arraignment and where a barrister (q.v.) stood to plead. As the place where the business of court was done, bar in this sense had become synonymous with court by early 14c.
1660s, "national legislative assembly of Spain; parliament or legislature of Portugal," from Spanish and Portuguese plural of corte, from Latin cortem (see court (n.)).
1640s, past-participle adjective from split (v.). Split decision is from 1946 of court rulings, 1951 in boxing. Split shift is from 1904. Split personality first attested 1899.
mid-15c., "quoted," past-participle adjective from allege. Attested from 1610s in sense of "brought forth in court;" 1670s as "asserted but not proved."
