Audience

King James Dictionary

AUD'IENCE, n.

1. The act of hearing, or attending to sounds.

His bold discourse had audience.

2. Admittance to a hearing public reception to an interview a ceremony observed in courts, or by official characters, when ambassadors or applicants to men in office are permitted to appear and state their business in person. 3. An auditory an assembly of hearers. 4. In the Spanish dominions, a court as the audience of Seville, which is a court of oyer and terminer and the audience pretorial, in the Indies, which is a high court of judicature. The word in Spain also signifies certain law-officers, appointed to institute a judicial inquiry. 5. In England, a court held by the arch-bishop of Canterbury, on the subject of consecrations, elections, institutions, marriages, &c.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): (a.) The act of hearing; attention to sounds.

(2): (a.) Admittance to a hearing; a formal interview, esp. with a sovereign or the head of a government, for conference or the transaction of business.

(3): (a.) An auditory; an assembly of hearers. Also applied by authors to their readers.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Audience . From Lat. audientia  ; ‘audience’ means in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] the act of hearing , as   Luke 20:45 ‘in the audience of all the people.’ Now it means the people gathered to hear.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

Hearing

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ô´di - ens  : Translated from the Hebrew אזן , 'ōzen , "ear." In  Genesis 23:10 f "in the audience of" is equal to "in the presence of," or "while they listened." Compare   Exodus 24:7;  1 Samuel 25:24 (Revised Version (British and American) "in thine ears");   1 Chronicles 28:8;  Nehemiah 13:1 . In the New Testament the expression "to give audience" ( Acts 22:22;  Acts 13:16 , the Revised Version (British and American) "hearken";  Acts 15:12 , the Revised Version (British and American) "they hearkened") translated from the Greek ἀκούω , akoúō "to hear" or derivatives, and means "to listen," "to pay attention." In the King James Version  Luke 7:1 (Revised Version, "in the ears of") and the King James Version   Luke 20:45 (Revised Version, "in the hearing of") the usage is similar to that of the Old Testament.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

a court formerly held by the archbishops of either province of England; that of Canterbury was removed from the palace to the Consistory Place of St. Paulus. All cases, whether contentious or voluntary, which were reserved for the archbishop's hearing were tried here; and the evidence was prepared by officers called auditors. When the court was no longer held in the palace, the jurisdiction was exercised by the master and official of the Audience. He is now represented by the vicar-general, official of the Arches and Audience, whose court was held in the hall of Doctors' Commons.