Rhadamanthineadj.
/ˌradəˈmanθʌɪn/, U.S. /ˌrædəˈmænˌθin/, /ˌrædəˈmænˌθaɪn/ Characterized by severe or rigorous judgement; unbending in integrity or the application of the law. See Rhadamanthus n.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > judging > [adjective]
judicatoryc1626
adjudicatory1685
Rhadamanthine1778
adjudicative1809
Mabo1992
1778 Fidefract i. 19 The Judges of Assize, With Dignity of Wig and Look, Receive their Visits at the Dock. In this fam'd Rhadamanthine Fortress, To which Tisiphone is Portress.
1839 Let. in W. M. Thackeray Paris Sketch Bk. II. 178 Severe Rhadamanthine judges are not to be melted by such trumpery.
1878 R. Browning La Saisiaz in La Saisiaz: Two Poets of Croisic 38 Rhadamanthine law.
1920 Q. Rev. Apr. 475 The Commission of Reparations, whose duty it should be to become a..Rhadamanthine Areopagus.
1970 Bull. N.Y. Acad. Med. 46 204 Not every reader would concur in the dogma of the first sentence, and the judgment of the second sentence is rhadamanthine; the anathema seems to be personal rather than professorial.
1994 Washington Times (Nexis) 18 Oct. a14 By any reasonable standard, those figures bespeak penal laxity, not Rhadamanthine justice.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1778