juror

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English jurour,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Anglo-Norman jurour,^{[5][3][2][4][6]} corresponding to Old French jureor (“one who swears”), modern French jureur,^[5][7][4][8] from Latin iūrātor (“swearer, sworn census clerk”),^[5][7][3][4] the agent noun of iūrō (“to swear”),^[5][7][8] from iūs (“law, right”).^[7][8] Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com analyse the Anglo-French word as jurer (“to swear”) with the suffix -our.^[9][10] The OED notes that Latin iūrātor and Anglo-Norman jurour occur in English records long before the English word,^[5] and Etymonline dates the Anglo-Latin use to the late 12th century.^[7] The Anglo-Norman word, recorded from the 13th century, already meant both a juror and someone who has taken an oath.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A member of a jury: before 1325, in the English text of the Rawlinson Statutes, which speak of jurors of the country falsely sworn.^[2] The OED's first record is in Langland's Piers Plowman (1377): "many a iustice an iuroure wolde for Iohan do more".^[5][2] Etymonline gives about 1300.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The legal sense came first, and in Middle English jurour also named a man whose property or rank qualified him to serve regularly on juries.^[2] Because jurors were often accused of corruption, the word also meant a false witness or a slanderer from about 1380 to 1563.^[5][2] Shakespeare used the qualified grand jurors in 1598.^[5] From the late 16th century it was also used of anyone who takes an oath, especially of allegiance (compare nonjuror),^[5][9] and Urquhart's Rabelais (1653) has it once for a profane swearer.^[5] Since the Great Exhibition of 1851 a juror has also been a member of a panel that awards prizes in a competition.^[5][9]

Timeline

• before 1325 – a member of a jury, as Iururs.^[2]
• c. 1380 – a false witness, a slanderer (obsolete by 1563).^[5][2]
• before 1593 – one who takes an oath, especially of allegiance, in Marlowe.^[5]
• 1598 – grand juror, in Shakespeare.^[5]
• 1653 – a profane swearer, as a nonce-word.^[5]
• 1851 – a member of a panel awarding prizes, at the Great Exhibition.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A member of a jury sworn to give a verdict in a court of law: Each juror was questioned by both lawyers.^[9][5][11]
2. A person summoned to serve on a jury.^[9]
3. A member of a panel that judges a competition or exhibition and awards prizes.^[9][5]
4. A person who takes an oath, especially of allegiance.^[9][5]

Word family

• nonjuror
• grand juror

Related words

• jury
• jurist
• perjury
• abjure
• conjure
• justice

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
7. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
11. ^ Garner, Bryan A., ed. (2004), Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed., St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson West