noun plural
Etymology: so called from its meeting quarterly
1.
a. : an English local court of record having original and appellate jurisdiction over petty crimes and less serious felonies and sometimes also over petty civil cases and local matters involving the public interest (as licenses and the repair of roads and bridges) and presided over usually by two justices of the peace or by a magistrate or judge sitting with a jury in a county or by a recorder in a borough — compare petty sessions
b. : a local Scottish court held quarterly by justices of the peace chiefly for review and appeal
c. : an intermediate court in parts of Australia (as New South Wales) having original and appellate criminal jurisdiction and consisting of a judge sitting with a jury
2. : a local court with criminal jurisdiction and sometimes administrative functions (as the care of roads and bridges) in some states of the United States (as Pennsylvania)