Trinity term

English

The Royal Courts of Justice in London, UK, the seat of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal of England and Wales

Etymology

The Christian feast day of Trinity Sunday, the first Sunday after Whitsunday or Pentecost, occurs during this term; it falls at the end of May or in early June.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtɹɪnɪti tɜːm/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtɹɪnəti tɝm/, /-ɾi/
• Hyphenation: Tri‧ni‧ty term

Noun

Trinity term (plural Trinity terms)

1. (law) The fourth and final term of the legal year, running from May to July, during which the upper courts of England and Wales, and Ireland, sit to hear cases.

   Coordinate terms: Michaelmas term, Hilary term, Easter term

   • 1845, R. Levinge Swift, “Appendix. Lord Lyndhurst’s Orders of 3rd April, 1828, (Amended by Lord Brougham’s Orders, 23rd November, 1831.)”, in The Orders of the High Court of Chancery, from Hilary Term 1828 to Trinity Term 1845, as at Present Applicable to the Practice: With the Cases Decided under each Order, London: Owen Richards, law bookseller and publisher, 194. Fleet-Street, →OCLC, pages 8–9:

     [Order] XIX. That whenever the time allowed for any of the following purposes, that is to say, for amending any bill, for filing, delivering, and referring exceptions to any answer, or for obtaining a Master's report upon any exceptions, would expire in the interval between the last seal after Trinity term and the first seal before Michaelmas term, or between the last seal after Michaelmas term and the first seal before Hilary term, such time shall extend to and include the day of the general seal then next ensuing.

2. (education) The third and final academic term of the universities of Oxford and Dublin, and other educational institutions, running from April to June; equivalent to Easter term at the University of Cambridge. The term was modelled after the legal term, but does not begin and end on the same dates.

   Coordinate terms: Michaelmas term, Hilary term

   • 1813, “University Terms, and How Many are Required to be Kept for each Degree”, in The Oxford University Calendar, for the Year 1813, Oxford: Printed by Munday and Slatter, for J. Parker; and F[rancis] C[harles] and J[ames] Rivington, London, →OCLC, page 65:

     There are four terms in the year, viz. […] 4. Trinity term, which begins on Wednesday after Whitsunday, and ends on the Saturday after the Act, which is always on the first Tuesday in July.

Usage notes

• In England and Wales, the system of terms applies to the High Court of Justice, the Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court; in Ireland it applies to the High Court and the Supreme Court.

• At present in England and Wales, Trinity term begins on the second Tuesday after the spring holiday, which is the bank holiday on the last Monday in May or any day appointed instead of that day. It ends on 31 July, unless that date falls on a Saturday or Sunday in which case the term ends on the Friday immediately preceding that date. In Ireland it begins on the Wednesday following Whitsun week and ends on 31 July.

Further reading

• Trinity term on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “Term Date Calculator”, in New Square Chambers‎^[3], 2016, archived from the original on 14 August 2007.