court /'kōrt/ n [Old French, enclosed space, royal entourage, court of justice, from Latin cohort - cohors farmyard, armed force, retinue]
1 a: an official assembly for the administration of justice: a unit of the judicial branch of government
the judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior court s as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish — U.S. Constitution art. III see also the judicial system in the back matter
b: a session of such a court
c usu cap: the Supreme Court of the United States
2: a place (as a building, hall, or room) for the administration of justice
order in the court
3: a judge or judges acting in official capacity
an issue to be decided by the court
the court may neither preside at nor attend the meeting of creditors — J. H. Williamson
4 usu cap: a legislative body
the General Court of Massachusetts
5: a body (as the International Court of Justice) exercising judicial powers over its members or the members of a body represented by it
an ecclesiastical court
out of court: without a court hearing: by private arrangement
settled out of court
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.