oyez means hear ye. Attend. (Called by public criers or in court usually three times to secure silence or attentiveness).
oyez is pronounced /ˈəʊˌjeɪ/.
Why “oyez” is a great word
A traditional call for silence and attention, uttered three times to introduce a formal proclamation. From Middle English oyes, from Anglo-French oyez ('hear ye!'), the plural imperative of oir ('to hear'), from Latin audīre ('to hear'). Unlike 'hear ye,' which renders the meaning directly but strips away the weight of ceremony, or 'silence,' which commands only stillness without the promise of what is to follow, oyez carries the accumulated gravity of centuries of public ritual. It is the oak staff rapping three times against stone, the town crier's voice swelling above the marketplace din, and the particular hush that falls when authority demands not merely quiet but readiness—the collective breath held before the law speaks.
Etymology
From Middle English oyes, from Old French oyez, the imperative plural of oir (“to hear; to listen”), from Latin audīre.
Commonly folk-etymologized as (and pronounced homophonously to) O + yes in the early modern period.
intj
- Hear ye. Attend. (Called by public criers or in court usually three times to secure silence or attentiveness).e.g.““Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! The Banquet is now ready!” called the two Beef Eaters, and in no time at all Palmer Cox’s resourceful Brownies had found a seat for every guest.”
verb
- To proclaim with a cry of oyez.