justice

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʒys.tis/^[1]

Forms

justice f (plural justices)^[1] Old French justise, used until the 13th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin jūstitia (“justice, equity, (Late Latin) the law, (Medieval Latin) jurisdiction”), from jūstus (“just”) (see juste).^[4][5][2][6] The Petit Robert places it in the family of jūs (“right, law”).^[7] justesse is a doublet.^[1]

It matches Old Occitan justicia, Spanish justicia, Portuguese justiça and Italian giustizia.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050) uses it for the moral principle by which right must be respected: que feit i ert e justice ed amur.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

Wace (1155) has it for the virtue of being fair, giving each his due.^[4][5] From the 11th century it was also strictly legal: faire justice “to punish” (about 1100, Chanson de Roland), later “to judge” (1538).^[4][5] Rendre justice à quelqu'un “to be fair to someone, acknowledge his merits” is in Pascal (1656), and se faire justice “to take the law into one's own hands” dates from 1640.^[4][5] Froissart (late 14th century) uses it for an execution.^[4]

It named a judge (1130–1140), a sense still alive in English, the institution that dispenses justice (about 1150), and a jurisdiction (about 1170, Chrétien de Troyes); gens de justice are judges and officers of the court (1585).^[4][5] Jean de Meun personified it (1275–1280), whence raide comme la justice.^[4][5] In religion it is the righteousness God puts in the soul (1564).^[4][5] Justice sociale is recorded in 1873.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – Justise, a moral principle, in the Vie de saint Alexis.^[4]
• c. 1100 – Faire justise “to punish”, in the Chanson de Roland.^[4]
• 1130–1140 – “A judge”, in Wace.^[4]
• 1155 – The virtue of justice, in Wace's Brut.^[4]
• c. 1170 – “Jurisdiction”, in Chrétien de Troyes.^[4]
• 1275–1280 – Justice personified, in Jean de Meun.^[4]
• 1640 – Se faire justice.^[5]
• 1656 – Rendre justice à quelqu'un, in Pascal.^[4]
• 1873 – Justice sociale.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. Justice, fairness, the recognition and respect of each person's rights: agir avec justice, justice sociale.^[7][1]
2. The law, conformity with the law; the administration of the law: demander justice, obtenir justice.^[7][5]
3. The judicial authority, the courts: palais de justice, law courts.^[7][4]
4. Rendre justice à quelqu'un: to do someone justice, se faire justice, to take the law into one's own hands.^[4][5]
5. (religion) Righteousness.^[4][5]

Word family

• justiciable
• justicier
• injustice

Related words

• juste
• justesse
• justifier
• Latin jūstitia

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
3. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s 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
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette