1.
[syn: petit jury, petty jury]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Petit \Pet"it\ (p[e^]t"[y^]; F. pe*t[-e]"), a. [F. See Petty.]
Small; little; insignificant; mean; -- Same as Petty.
[Obs., except in legal language.]
[1913 Webster]
By what small, petit hints does the mind catch hold of
and recover a vanishing notion. --South.
[1913 Webster]
Petit constable, an inferior civil officer, subordinate to
the high constable.
Petit jury, a jury of twelve men, impaneled to try causes
at the bar of a court; -- so called in distinction from
the grand jury.
Petit larceny, the stealing of goods of, or under, a
certain specified small value; -- opposed to grand
larceny. The distinction is abolished in England.
Petit ma[^i]tre. [F., lit., little master.] A fop; a
coxcomb; a ladies' man. --Goldsmith.
Petit serjeanty (Eng. Law), the tenure of lands of the
crown, by the service of rendering annually some implement
of war, as a bow, an arrow, a sword, a flag, etc.
Petit treason, formerly, in England, the crime of killing a
person to whom the offender owed duty or subjection, as
one's husband, master, mistress, etc. The crime is now not
distinguished from murder.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
petit jury
n 1: a jury of 12 to determine the facts and decide the issue in
civil or criminal proceedings [syn: petit jury, petty
jury]