ChatterBank3 mins ago
'the dock'
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why do they call the enclosure where the accused stands in court 'the dock'?
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No best answer has yet been selected by big yankee. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.It came from the old Flemish word 'dok', meaning a rabbit-hutch or chicken-coop. In English, it first appeared as criminals' slang in the 16th century for the accused's place. This was presumably based on the similarity in appearance of the farmyard/courtroom structures...and also perhaps on the grounds that one might be taken from it and put to death!