“Of this ignorance we may see daily instances, in the abuse of two legal terms of ancient French; one, the prologue to all proclamations, ‘oyez, or hear ye,’ which is generally pronounced most unmeaningly, ‘O yes:’ the other, a more pardonable mistake, viz., when a jury are all sworn, the officer bids the crier number them, for which the word in law-french is, ‘countez;’ but we now hear it pronounced in very good English, ‘count these.’ ” 4 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 334 n.s (1769).
countez
countez (kawn-teez). [Law French] Hist. A direction given by a clerk of a court to a crier, after a jury was sworn, to count the jury members.
