justicia

Forms

justicia f (plural justicias)^[1] Old Spanish wrote iusticia, iustiçia, justiçia and justicia.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin iūstitia (“justice”), a learned word.^[4][5][6][1] Although learned, it has been in general use at every period.^[4] García de Diego also calls it a learned word.^[7] The Latin noun is formed from iūstus (“just”) with -itia.^[1] The adjective is from iūs (“law”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *jowos (“oath, law”) and to a PIE word for “vital force, eternity”;^[8][1] Wiktionary gives Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew- (“straight, right”).^[8][1]

The same Latin word was taken into Portuguese justiça, Galician xustiza, Asturian xusticia, Occitan justícia and French justice.^[1][9] The sense “magistrate, judicial authority”, not limited to Aragon although best kept there, comes from Late Latin and is already in the charter of 1132.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record for Corominas is an Aragonese charter of 1132, with the sense “magistrate”.^[4][5] The earliest Castilian hits in the CDH are in the Fazienda de Ultra Mar (c. 1200, in a 13th-century copy), segunt sue justicia “according to his righteousness”, and in the Fuero de Zorita de los Canes (1218–c. 1250), Del fierro pora fazer la iustiçia “of the iron for carrying out the punishment”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The medieval fueros use it for the punishment of offenders and for the officers who carry it out;^[3] Berceo calls Solomon reï de grand justicia.^[3] Alfonso X's prose uses it for fair treatment according to law and reason.^[10] Covarrubias quoted the definitions of Cicero, the jurists and Aristotle.^[11] The Diccionario de Autoridades defined it as the cardinal virtue of giving each his due, as God's punishment of sins, and as equity.^[12]

The Academy's 1884 edition kept these senses and gave the etymology from Latin iustitia.^[13] The DLE marks as obsolete the senses of a minister or court of justice, a death sentence, the chief justice of Aragon and a bailiff.^[6] The derivative justiciero is from about 1295 and ajusticiar “to execute” from about 1600.^[4][5]

Timeline

• 1132 – an Aragonese charter, in the sense “magistrate”.^[4][5]
• c. 1200 – justicia in the Fazienda de Ultra Mar, in a 13th-century copy.^[3]
• 1218–c. 1250 – iustiçia in the Fuero de Zorita de los Canes.^[3]
• 1246–1252 – Berceo's Milagros has reï de grand justicia.^[3]
• c. 1295 – the derivative justiciero.^[4][5]
• 1513 – Nebrija gives Latin iustitia and aequitas.^[14]
• c. 1600 – the derivative ajusticiar.^[4][5]
• 1884 – the Academy's dictionary first gives the etymology, from Latin iustitia.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. justice: the moral principle that everyone should live honestly and receive their due.^[6][1]
2. Right, reason, equity.^[6]
3. The sum of all the virtues; righteousness.^[6][1]
4. What ought to be done according to law or reason: Las víctimas reclaman justicia.^[6]
5. Penalty or punishment.^[6]
6. The judiciary, the judicial power; the law.^[6][1]
7. (Christianity) One of the four cardinal virtues.^[6][12]
8. (obsolete) A minister or court that administers justice.^[6]
9. (colloquial, obsolete) An execution.^[6]
10. (masculine, obsolete) The chief justice of Aragon.^[6]
11. (masculine, obsolete) A bailiff.^[6]

Word family

• justiciero
• ajusticiar
• justiciable
• justiciador

Related words

• justificar
• justo
• injusticia
• Latin iūstitia
• French justice

Usage notes

In the senses “chief justice of Aragon” and “bailiff” the word is masculine (el justicia).^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. justicia
3. ^ a b c d e f g Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. justicia
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 3, 542
5. ^ a b c d e f Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. justo
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. justicia
7. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. justitia
8. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. justice
10. ^ Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. justicia
11. ^ Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 1028
12. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. s.v. justicia
13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 621
14. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 365