Etymologically
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unjust

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Pronunciation

  • /ʌnˈd͡ʒʌst/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English un- (“not”) + just,[2][3][4][5][6] in its early use after Latin iniūstus (“unjust”).[2] Just came into Middle English from Old French juste (“just, righteous”) and directly from Latin iūstus (“upright, righteous, lawful”).[3] Johnson (1755) gave French injuste and the Latin adjective as its source.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not acting fairly or justly, and not in keeping with justice: about 1384, in the early version of the Wycliffite Bible.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word described both people and their acts.[2][3][7] In Middle English it also meant wicked or sinful, from about 1400,[2][3] later, from the late 15th century, unfaithful or dishonest, a use Merriam-Webster now marks archaic.[5][4] A sense "improper, not justified" is recorded from about 1443, in Pecock,[2] and "inexact, incorrect" from 1554, in Edinburgh records; the Shorter Oxford counts the latter as obsolete since the early 18th century, the OED as rare.[2][5] The unjust, unjust people as a class, appears in the Wycliffite Bible, and the noun for injustice from 1561.[2] A noun unjustice, wrongdoing, recorded from the mid-15th century, survived only in Scots.[3][5]

Timeline

  • c. 1384 – of people and acts, not just, and the unjust, in the Wycliffite Bible.[2]
  • c. 1400 – wicked, sinful.[2]
  • c. 1443 – not proper or warranted, in Pecock.[2]
  • 1554 – inaccurate, incorrect.[2]
  • 1561 – noun, injustice, wrong.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Not fair or in keeping with justice; undeserved: an unjust tax on the poorest households.[8][4][2]
  2. Of a person: not acting fairly or impartially, especially in judging others.[2][5][4]
  3. (archaic) Dishonest or faithless.[4][5][2]
  4. (obsolete) Improper or incorrect.[5][2]

Noun

  1. the unjust: unjust or wicked people as a group.[2]

Word family

  • unjustly
  • unjustness

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins