hold court

English

Verb

hold court (third-person singular simple present holds court, present participle holding court, simple past and past participle held court)

1. (of a king or other high-ranking aristocrat) To preside in a formal manner over an official assembly of courtiers and others in which entertainment is presented or affairs of state are considered.
   • 1919, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter 19, in Tarzan the Untamed:

     [T]his was one of the anterooms off the main throneroom in which the king was accustomed to hold court with his entire retinue.

2. (law, of a judge or equivalent official) To convene or preside over a trial or other legal proceeding in a court of law.
   • 1906, Andy Adams, “Rangering”, in Cattle Brands: A Collection of Western Camp-Fire Stories:

     Bean held court in an outhouse, the prisoner seated on a bale of flint hides. Bean was not only judge but prosecutor, as well as counsel for the defense.

   • 1994 August 14, Michael Janofsky, “Simpson Trial's Allure Puts State Politicians on the Spot”, in New York Times, retrieved 30 May 2013:

     California's Acting Secretary of State . . . asked the judge in the case not to hold court on Election Day, Nov. 8, and the day before.

3. (idiomatic, by extension) To serve as the principal discussant or center of attention in an informal gathering of friends, associates, etc.
   • 1912, E. Phillips Oppenheim, chapter 3, in Peter Ruff and the Double Four:

     She was the centre of a very brilliant group, a most beautiful woman holding court, as was only right and proper, among her admirers.

   • 2012 April 18, Anthony Bourdain, “José Andrés: Activist”, in Time:

     Suddenly I heard a familiar laugh, headed down to the bar and found José Andrés holding court with journalists on behalf of a solar-powered cookstove that cheaply boils water for people with little or no access to fuel.

   • 2013 April 1, Douglas Martin, “Ralph Klein, 70, Politician in Alberta Oil Boom, Dies”, in New York Times, retrieved 30 May 2013:

     With a rumpled, folksy manner, he held court for years in the smoke-filled beer hall of the King Louis Hotel in Calgary.

Translations

To preside in a formal manner over an official assembly of courtiers

• Finnish: pitää hovia
• Polish: królować (pl) impf

To convene or preside over a trial or other legal proceeding in a court of law

• Finnish: johtaa oikeudenkäyntiä

To serve as the principal discussant or center of attention in an informal gathering of friends, associates, etc.

• Finnish: pitää hovia
• French: tenir salon (fr)
• Italian: tenere banco
• Polish: brylować (pl) impf
• Swedish: hålla hov

References

• “hold court”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.