sweinmote

sweinmote

English

Noun

sweinmote (plural sweinmotes)

1. Obsolete form of swainmote.
   • 1771, Blackstone, William, Sir, “On the Courts of Special Jurisdiction”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England‎, volume 3, page 72:

     The court of sweinmote is to be holden before the verderors, as judges, by the steward of the sweinmote, thrice in every year, the sweins or freeholders within the forest composing the jury. The principal jurisdiction of this court is, first, to inquire into the oppressions and grievances committed by the officers of the forest; [...] and, secondly, to receive and try presentments certified from the court of attachments against offences in vert and venison.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for sweinmote in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)