judiciaire

Forms

judiciaire (plural judiciaires)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin iūdiciārius (“relating to the courts”),^[2][3][4] from iūdicium (“judgment, lawsuit, discernment”), from iūdex (“judge”).^[3][5][6][7]

Cognate with Old Occitan juditiari, Spanish judiciario and Italian giudiziario.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found at the end of the 14th century in Eustache Deschamps, meaning “relating to justice”: Et droiturier en fait judiciaire (“and upright in matters of justice”), said of the king.^[2][7][4]

Semantic evolution

From about 1400 it formed legal phrases such as acte judiciaire, and later casier judiciaire and liquidation judiciaire.^[3][2] In the 16th century Calvin and Montaigne used it more widely, and Montaigne used the noun judiciaires for astrologers who predict events.^[6][7]

In the 17th and 18th centuries the word also meant “relating to judgment, to the mind's power of discernment”: la judiciaire was first the part of rhetoric dealing with judgments (1588, Montaigne), then the faculty of judgment itself (1669, Molière), and Rousseau wrote of a faculté judiciaire.^[2][3][6] This sense is now obsolete.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1400 – Eustache Deschamps uses it for “relating to justice”.^[2][4][5]
• 1400 – Acte judiciaire appears in a charter.^[2][3]
• 1453 – The adverb is first found as judicierment.^[3][2]
• 1539 – Extrajudiciaire is recorded.^[4]
• 1588 – Montaigne uses la judiciaire for a part of rhetoric.^[2][3]
• 1669 – Molière uses it for “discernment, judgment”.^[2]
• 1765–1770 – Rousseau writes faculté judiciaire.^[2][6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Judicial, relating to justice and its administration: le pouvoir judiciaire, l'autorité judiciaire.^[8][2][7]
2. Done in court or by order of a court: casier judiciaire “criminal record”, erreur judiciaire “miscarriage of justice”, vente judiciaire, police judiciaire.^[8][2][1]
3. (philosophy, obsolete) Relating to judgment;^[8][3] la judiciaire, the power of telling true from false.^[8][3]

Word family

• judiciairement
• extrajudiciaire

Related words

• juridique
• juge
• judicieux
• Latin iūdicium

Usage notes

Littré gives a separate masculine noun judiciaire, an old term of customary law for an assessor.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert