“Oyez”–a term used to open sessions of the Supreme Court, among other tribunals– is an ancient holdover from the use of Anglo-Norman in law. Meaning “to hear”, over time it was generally replaced by the expression “hear ye”. It is one of relatively few ancient words that still has the same meaning today as it did a millennium ago, although the pronunciation has changed. Commonly pronounced today as ‘oh yay’, it was originally pronounced ‘oyets’.