Hilary term

noun2

1. •
   The second term of the legal year, running from January to March or April, during which the upper courts of England and Wales, and Ireland, sit to hear cases.
2. •
   The second academic term of the universities of Oxford and Dublin, and other educational institutions, running from January to March; equivalent to Lent term at the University of Cambridge. The term was modelled after the legal term, but does not begin and end on the same dates.

   • There are four terms in the year, viz. […] 2. Hilary term, which begins on the 14th day of January, and ends the day before Palm Sunday. — 1813