Ver"dict (?), n. [OE. verdit, OF.
verdit, veirdit, LL. verdictum, veredictum; L.
vere truly (fr. verus true) + dictum a saying, a word,
fr. dicere, dictum, to say. See Very, and Dictum.]
1. (Law) The answer of a jury given to the
court concerning any matter of fact in any cause, civil or criminal,
committed to their examination and determination; the finding or decision
of a jury on the matter legally submitted to them in the course of the
trial of a cause.
☞ The decision of a judge or referee, upon an issue of fact, is not
called a verdict, but a finding, or a finding of fact.
Abbott.
2. Decision; judgment; opinion pronounced; as, to
be condemned by the verdict of the public.
These were enormities condemned by the most natural
verdict of common humanity.
South.
Two generations have since confirmed the verdict
which was pronounced on that night.
Macaulay.