Etymology

oyez

o·yez
O1Y4E1Z10

Today it means: Hear ye. Attend. (Called by public criers or in court usually three times to secure silence or attentiveness). Full definition →

Middle English oyes ← Old French oyez ← Latin audīre
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromaudīre
  2. Old French · derived fromoyez
  3. Middle English · inherited fromoyes
  4. English todayoyez

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.

Words from the same roots

Latinaudīre all →

audibleaudile

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.