Drumhead court-martial — Drumhead Drum head , n. 1. The parchment or skin stretched over one end of a drum. [1913 Webster] 2. The top of a capstan which is pierced with sockets for levers used in turning it. See Illust. of {Capstan}. [1913 Webster] {Drumhead court… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
drumhead court-martial — n. [from the former use of a drum as the judges table] a summary court martial held in the field for trial of offenses committed during military operations or troop movements … English World dictionary
Drumhead court-martial — A drumhead court martial is a court martial held in the field to hear urgent charges of offences committed in action. The term is said to originate from the use of a drumhead as an improvised writing table,[1][2] altar for religious services,… … Wikipedia
drumhead court-martial — noun a military court convened to hear urgent charges of offenses committed in action • Topics: ↑military, ↑armed forces, ↑armed services, ↑military machine, ↑war machine • Hypernyms: ↑court martial * * * … Useful english dictionary
drumhead court-martial — drum′head court′ mar tial n. mil a court martial usu. held on a battlefield • Etymology: 1825–35; so called from the use of a drumhead as a table … From formal English to slang
drumhead court-martial — noun Etymology: from the use of a drumhead as a table Date: 1835 a summary court martial that tries offenses on the battlefield … New Collegiate Dictionary
drumhead court martial — n. informal brief court martial held on a battlefield for an offense that was committed during military operations … English contemporary dictionary
drumhead court martial — noun a court martial held (originally round an upturned drum for a table) for the summary trial of charges of offences committed during military operations …
drumhead court-martial — A summary military trial … Ballentine's law dictionary
Court-martial — redirects here. For other uses, see Court Martial (disambiguation). The field court martial of the Finnish 15th Brigade in July 1944 A court martial (plural courts martial, as martial is postpositive) is a military court. A court martial is… … Wikipedia