Definition of "soke" [soke]

• In early English law, the right of local jurisdiction, generally one of the feudal rights of lordship. (noun)
• The district over which soke jurisdiction was exercised. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Khummes_, and near it is held, every Thursday, a market called soke"
• "The term was also applied to a district or "soke," possessed of independent franchises, as in the case of the Portsoken"
• "A "soke," or soca, it may be incidentally observed, was the territory in which was exercised the soca, or the privilege of hearing causes and disputes, levying fines, and administering justice within certain limits."