Main Entry: as·size

Pronunciation: \ə-ˈsīz\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English assise, from Anglo-French, session, legal action, from asseer, asseoir to seat, from Vulgar Latin *assedēre, from Latin assidēre to sit beside, assist in the office of a judge, from ad- + sedēre to sit — more at sit

Date: 14th century

1 a : a judicial inquest b : an action to be decided by such an inquest, the writ for instituting it, or the verdict or finding rendered by the jury
2 a : the former periodical sessions of the superior courts in English counties for trial of civil and criminal cases —usually used in plural b : the time or place of holding such a court, the court itself, or a session of it —usually used in plural