[soke] n [ME soc, soke, fr. OE soka, fr. ML soca, fr. OE socn inquiry, jurisdiction; akin to OE secan to seek] (12c) 1: the right in Anglo-Saxon and early English law to hold court and administer justice with the franchise to receive certain fees or fines arising from it: jurisdiction over a territory or over people
2: the district included in a soke jurisdiction or franchise