Etymologically
Log in

injustice

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:17. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • US: /ɪnˈd͡ʒʌs.tɪs/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English injustice,[2][3] borrowed from Old French injustice (“unfairness, injustice”),[4][5][6] a learned borrowing of Latin iniūstitia (“unfairness, injustice”),[6][4][2] from iniūstus (“unjust, wrongful”), formed from in- (“not”) and iūstus (“just”).[2][4][7] The OED dates the French word to the 14th century, in Oresme,[5] and in Anglo-Norman it is recorded from about 1360–79, meaning wrongdoing.[8] An adjective injust, also from French, appeared in the late 15th century, but unjust remained the usual English word.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Unjust action, wrong: 1390, in Gower's Confessio Amantis;[5][6] Barnhart dates the text before 1393, and Etymonline gives the late 14th century.[6][4]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its meaning since Gower: from the start it named both unfairness in general and, with an and in the plural, a single unjust act.[5] Johnson (1755) defined it as "iniquity; wrong", quoting Swift on cunning men who can be "guilty of a thousand injustices" without being found out.[9] The phrase do someone an injustice means to judge a person unfairly.[10]

Timeline

  • c. 1360–79 – Anglo-Norman injustice, wrongdoing.[8]
  • 1390 – unjust action, wrong, in Gower.[5][6]
  • late 15th century – the adjective injust.[4]
  • 1755 – Johnson: "iniquity; wrong".[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Lack of justice or fairness; violation of other people's rights.
  2. A particular unjust act; a wrong: The new law put right a long-standing injustice.
  3. do someone an injustice: to judge someone unfairly.

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  9. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press