Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
drum-head court en · NOUN
Meanings
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(abbreviation, alt-of, clipping) Clipping of drumhead court-martial.
Now each proceeding that follows a mortal sentence pronounced at sea by a drum-head court is characterised by promptitude not perceptibly merging into hurry, tho' bordering that.
1924, Herman Melville, chapter 23, in Billy Budd, London: Constable & Co.:We speak of drumfire, drumhead courts; we drum up, drum out, drum into.
1961, Günter Grass, translated by Ralph Manheim, The Tin Drum, New York: Vintage, published 1990, page 48:
Forms