admiralty

noun

ad·​mi·​ral·​ty ˈad-m(ə-)rəl-tē 

1

capitalized : the executive department or officers formerly having general authority over British naval affairs

2

: the court having jurisdiction over questions of maritime law

also : the system of law administered by admiralty courts

Examples of admiralty in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While Winston Churchill served as Britain’s first lord of the admiralty and minister of munitions—with a six-month period as the commander of a battalion in France in between—Adolf Hitler was languishing as an obscure runner in an insignificant regiment on the Western Front. —Tim Bouverie, airmail.news, 24 Aug. 2024

What was once confined to admiralty and customs skyrocketed when it was expanded to everyday use in the 1980s during the War on Drugs. —Jill Jacobson, Sun Sentinel, 6 June 2024

In April, the two firms had taken action to shield themselves from liability, citing the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851, according to Lawrence Brennan, a professor of admiralty and international maritime law at Fordham University School of Law in New York who spoke to Fortune at the time. —Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2024

Civil forfeiture laws in the U.S. date back to English admiralty law. —Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English admiralte, ameralte "office or jurisdiction of an admiral," borrowed from Anglo-French admiralté, amiralté from admiral, amiral admiral + -té -ty

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

admiralty

1 of 2 noun

1

: a group of officials formerly in charge of the British navy

2

: the court having authority over questions of maritime law

also : the system of law administered by admiralty courts

admiralty

2 of 2 adjective

ad·​mi·​ral·​ty

ˈad-mə-rəl-tē,

-mrəl-

: of or relating to conduct on the sea

Legal Definition

admiralty

noun

ad·​mi·​ral·​ty ˈad-mə-rəl-tē 

: the court having jurisdiction over questions of maritime law

also : maritime law