Definition
An Old French term meaning "truth" or "the truth." In legal usage, VOIR functions almost exclusively as the first word of the compound phrase VOIR DIRE, though it occasionally appears alone in older legal texts and dictionaries as a standalone entry. Its standalone legal meaning is simply: truth. It carries no independent doctrinal weight apart from its role in that phrase.
As part of VOIR DIRE — literally "to speak the truth" — the word anchors a foundational procedural concept: the sworn examination of a prospective juror or witness to determine whether that person is qualified to serve or testify. The oath administered in this process, and the examination itself, both carry the name.
---
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): VOIR does not appear as a standalone English word in modern common usage. It is a French word meaning "to see" in contemporary French.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): Not listed as an English entry. Treated as a foreign-language legal term of art carried over from the Law French tradition.
The gap worth noting: Modern French speakers encountering VOIR in a legal context may assume the word relates to sight or seeing — from the French verb "voir," to see. In legal usage, however, the term derives from an older sense meaning truth or truthful speaking. The legal phrase VOIR DIRE is not about observation; it is about sworn declaration.
---
Common Confusion
VOIR is frequently encountered in legal writing only as part of VOIR DIRE, and researchers sometimes treat the two as inseparable. They are not. VOIR is a discrete term appearing in older legal dictionaries as a standalone entry — typically as a definitional anchor for the longer phrase. Researchers encountering VOIR alone in a historical source should understand it as a shorthand signal pointing toward the voir dire doctrine, not as an independent legal concept with its own body of law.
---
Why It Matters in Research
The practical significance of researching VOIR as a standalone term is almost entirely historical and lexical. It matters in three contexts:
First, when working in historical sources — particularly Law French materials, early English common law treatises, or 18th- and 19th-century American legal dictionaries — VOIR may appear as its own headword. Researchers should treat these entries as gateways to voir dire doctrine rather than evidence of a distinct legal concept.
Second, the etymology shapes meaning. Bouvier's spare entry ("Truth; the truth") and Anderson's more expansive treatment both confirm that the legal tradition imported VOIR not from the French sense of sight but from an older sense of truthful utterance. This distinction matters when interpreting oaths and examination procedures in historical sources, where the emphasis on sworn truthfulness was doctrinely significant.
Third, corpus researchers tracing the history of juror competency, witness qualification, and examination procedures will find that VOIR — as a standalone entry or as part of VOIR DIRE — connects to a substantial body of procedural development. The examination of witnesses for interest, bias, or incompetency was a live issue at common law and generated considerable doctrinal elaboration that is only partially reflected in modern voir dire practice.
---
Historical Dictionary Support
Bouvier reduces the term to its bare essence: "Truth; the truth." This is consistent with its role as a lexical building block rather than a doctrinal term in its own right.
Anderson expands meaningfully, embedding VOIR within its practical context. His entry explains that voir dire refers both to the oath administered to a prospective witness or juror and to the examination itself — the inquiry into whether the person possesses the required qualifications. Anderson notes the common law practice of examining witnesses for interest: a witness's stake in the outcome of a suit could be revealed through voir dire examination, potentially affecting competency to testify. This reflects a now-largely-abandoned doctrine — witness incompetency for interest — that modern sources do not adequately flag.
Neither dictionary treats VOIR as having significance outside the voir dire phrase. Both confirm that its legal meaning is fixed on truth and sworn declaration, not on any independent procedural or substantive rule.
---
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
Jury Selection — Voir Dire, Peremptory Challenges, and Batson (The Law Mind Criminal Law Encyclopedia)
---