Etymologically
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justice

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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
  • 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