voir dire

From Anglo-Norman, literally “to speak the truth”, from Old French voir (“true; truly”) (from Latin vērus (“true”)) + dire (“to say”) (from Latin dīcere (“to speak; to say”)).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈvwɑː ˌdɪə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈvɔɹ ˌdaɪɹ/, /ˈvwɑɹ ˌdɪɹ/

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voir dire (countable and uncountable, plural voir dires)

1. (law) The preliminary phase of a jury trial in which the jurors are examined and selected.
2. (law, England, Wales, New Zealand, Australia, US) A preliminary hearing without a jury in order to determine whether the evidence meets the test for admissibility to go to a full hearing at a criminal trial, in the legal systems of England and Wales, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.
3. (law) A hearing in the context of a larger trial to determine some specific issue relevant to that trial, such as the admissibility of a piece of evidence or the competency of a witness to testify.