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
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nounEtymology: from its having been held around a drumhead as table
: a court-martial to try offenses on the battlefield or the line of march
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a court-martial held, usually on a battlefield, for the summary trial of charges of offenses committed during military operations.
[1825-35; so called from the use of a drumhead as a table during the court-martial]
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drumhead court-martial,
a court-martial on the battlefield or while troops are moving, held in order to try offenders without delay.
╂[because originally the court used a large drum as a table]
Useful english dictionary. 2012.