Retrial

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A legal process that involves a new hearing of a case following previous verdicts
2. The re-evaluation of a previously settled legal case to address potential errors or new evidence
3. A subsequent court hearing held to reconsider a legal case that has already been judged

Etymology: "Retrial" is a plain compound: the prefix "re-", meaning "again," attached to "trial." The re- comes from Latin "re-," which passed into English through Old French, while "trial" traces back through Anglo-Norman and Old French to the verb "trier," meaning to try, test, or sift. So the word literally means "trying again." The idea behind "trial" is testing or sifting out what is genuine. "Trier" is ultimately related to the notion of picking out or separating, and a trial was originally a test of quality or worth before it came to mean a legal hearing. Adding "re-" simply turns a finished examination into a second one, which is why a retrial reopens a case that was already decided.

Synonyms: retrial, re-examination

Antonyms: dismissal