jurisdiction

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˌdʒʊə.rɪsˈdɪk.ʃən/, US /ˌdʒʊr.ɪsˈdɪk.ʃən/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English jurediccioun, borrowed from Old French juridiction (“administration of justice”), jurediction,^[2][3][4] and directly Latin jūrisdictiō (“administration of justice”), from iūris, genitive of jūs (“law, right”), and dictiō, a saying (see diction),^[3][2][5] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *deik- (“to show, pronounce solemnly”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The administration of justice: 1267 in the OED;^[6] before 1325, in the Cursor Mundi, in Barnhart.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The extent of administrative power, or the territory over which it extends, is from about 1380.^[6][3] Power or authority in general is from about 1425,^[6] and the right of making and enforcing laws from the early 15th century.^[3] The medial s, as in jurisdiccioun (about 1390), comes from the Latin spelling.^[2][3] A court or series of courts is from 1765.^[6]

Timeline

• 1267 – administration of justice.^[6]
• c. 1380 – the range of authority.^[6]
• c. 1390 – spelling with s.^[2]
• c. 1425 – authority in general.^[6]
• 1765 – a court.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The right and power to interpret and apply the law.
2. Authority or control, or its extent.
3. The territory over which authority extends.

Word family

• jurisdictional
• jurisdictionally
• jurisdictive

Related words

• jurist
• jury
• justice
• diction

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press