Trinity term

English

WOTD – 2 June 2026
The Royal Courts of Justice in London, United Kingdom, the seat of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. Trinity term (sense 1) is the fourth and final term of the legal year.

Etymology

From trinity +‎ term (noun). In the upper courts of England and Wales, and Ireland, the term begins in the week following the Christian feast day of Trinity Sunday, the first Sunday after Pentecost or Whitsunday, which falls at the end of May or in early June.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈtɹɪnɪti ˌtɜːm/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈtɹɪnəti ˌtɜɹm/, [-ɾi]
  • Audio (General American):(file)
  • Hyphenation: Tri‧ni‧ty term

Noun

Trinity term (plural Trinity terms)

  2. (law) The fourth and final term of the legal year in England and Wales, and in Ireland, running from June to July, during which the upper courts sit to hear cases.
    Coordinate terms: Easter term, Hilary term, Michaelmas 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: […], London: Owen Richards, […], →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.
  3. (by extension, 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: Hilary term, Michaelmas 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, Oxfordshire: […] 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

Translations

References

  1. ^ “Practice Direction 2F – Court Sittings”, in Ministry of Justice‎[1], 7 February 2023, archived from the original on 14 March 2026, paragraphs 1.1(1)(d), 1.1(1A)(b) and 1.1(2).
  2. ^ “Rules of the Superior Courts”, in Courts Service Ireland‎[2], 9 November 2016 (last accessed), archived from the original on 1 April 2016, Order 118(1).

Further reading

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