Oyez?

What on earth does that mean?

If you ever pay a visit to the highest court in the land, you’ll notice they uphold some long-held traditions, including having a Marshal bang the gavel and call out the following announcement: “The Honorable, the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!” The Middle English word “oyez” essentially means “hear ye,” and is a call for attention and silence.

It’s the old-timey equivalent of the modern “Order in the court!”

Fun to learn about and share these traditions which continue on today!