Definition

1. Noun:
   • Court crier, bailiff: "Mõ tòa" refers to an official in the old judicial system, responsible for announcing court news and enforcing court decisions. This role sometimes also involved overseeing the sale of state-owned movable property.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Trong xã hội phong kiến, mõ tòa có nhiệm vụ đọc các bản án trước công chúng. (In feudal society, the court crier had the duty of reading verdicts to the public.)
  • Công việc của một mõ tòa ngày xưa rất vất vả. (The work of a bailiff in the old days was very arduous.)

Advanced Usage

• This term is now considered archaic and is primarily used in historical or literary contexts to describe the judicial system of pre-modern Vietnam.

Variants and Related Words

• Thừa phát lại: A synonym and more formal term for "mõ tòa", also meaning bailiff or court usher in the old context.
  • Chức vụ thừa phát lại ngày nay đã được tái lập với nhiệm vụ hiện đại. (The position of bailiff has been re-established today with modern duties.)

Synonyms

• Usher: A person who shows people to their seats in a court or who performs minor official duties.
• Bailiff: A court officer entrusted with duties such as maintaining order in the courtroom and executing court orders.

Notes

• The term "mõ tòa" is historical. The modern equivalent for some of its functions would be court officers or process servers within the contemporary legal system.

1. (từ cũ) Usher, bailiff