JURISDICTION

jurisdiction

(noun) in law; the territory within which power can be exercised

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

jurisdiction (countable and uncountable, plural jurisdictions)

The power, right, or authority to interpret and apply the law.

The power or right to exercise authority.

The authority of a sovereign power to govern or legislate.

The limits or territory within which authority may be exercised.

Synonyms

• (power or right to exercise authority): power

• (historical, UK): oyer and terminer, soc and sac

Source: Wiktionary


Ju`ris*dic"tion, n. Etym: [L. jurisdictio; jus, juris, right, law + dictio a saying, speaking: cf. OF. jurisdiction, F. juridiction. See Just, a., and Diction.]

1. (Law)

Definition: The legal power, right, or authority of a particular court to hear and determine causes, to try criminals, or to execute justice; judicial authority over a cause or class of causes; as, certain suits or actions, or the cognizance of certain crimes, are within the jurisdiction of a particular court, that is, within the limits of its authority or commission.

2. The authority of a sovereign power to govern or legislate; the right of making or enforcing laws; the power or right of exercising authority. To live exempt From Heaven's high jurisdiction. Milton. You wrought to be a legate; by which power You maim'd the jurisdiction of all bishops. Shak.

3. Sphere of authority; the limits within which any particular power may be exercised, or within which a government or a court has authority.

Note: Jurisdiction, in its most general sense, is the power to make, declare, or apply the law. When confined to the judiciary department, it is what we denominate the judicial power, the right of administering justice through the laws, by the means which the laws have provided for that purpose. Jurisdiction is limited to place or territory, to persons, or to particular subjects. Duponceau.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

30 June 2025

BODILY

(adjective) affecting or characteristic of the body as opposed to the mind or spirit; “bodily needs”; “a corporal defect”; “corporeal suffering”; “a somatic symptom or somatic illness”


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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