STARCHAMBER

Star"-cham`ber, n. Etym: [So called (as conjectured by Blackstone) from being held in a room at the Exchequer where the chests containing certain Jewish comtracts and obligations called starrs (from the Heb. shetar, pron. shtar) were kept; or from the stars with which the ceiling is supposed to have been decorated.] (Eng. Hist.)

Definition: An ancient high court exercising jurisdiction in certain cases, mainly criminal, which sat without the intervention of a jury. It consisted of the king's council, or of the privy council only with the addition of certain judges. It could proceed on mere rumor or examine witnesses; it could apply torture. It was abolished by the Long Parliament in 1641. Encyc. Brit.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

28 November 2024

SYNCRETISM

(noun) the fusion of originally different inflected forms (resulting in a reduction in the use of inflections)


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee has initially been a food – chewed, not sipped. Early African tribes consume coffee by grinding the berries together, adding some animal fat, and rolling the treats into tiny edible energy balls.

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