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giusto

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word giusto

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
before 1274
Inherited from
Latin iustus
Ultimate origin
Latin iūs
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin iustus
Italian giusto
French juste
Derived words
Dutch juist ← iustus
Latin iuste ← iustus
French justement ← juste

Pronunciation

  • /ˈd͡ʒus.to/[1]

Forms

giusto (feminine giusta, masculine plural giusti, feminine plural giuste, superlative giustissimo)[1] An old spelling is iusto.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin iustus (“just, lawful”), “in keeping with the law”, from iūs (“law, right”).[5][6][2][1] The Latin word was both an adjective and, later, a noun.[5] The GDLI calls the Italian word semi-learned.[7] The same word is French juste, Occitan juste, Catalan just, Spanish justo and Portuguese justo;[6][8][9] Romanian lacks it.[6][8][9]

The Latin adjective is recorded in an old form iouestod on an inscription from the Forum.[10][11] Wiktionary takes it from Archaic Latin iovestos, from the stem of the word for “law” with the suffix -tus.[1] De Vaan traces that noun to Proto-Italic *jowos “oath, law” and an Indo-European word meaning “vital force”.[10]

DEI holds that the adverb in the sense “exactly, precisely” (17th century) is very probably the French adverb, which also passed into German and English; the adverb “justly” was older and is in Dante.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT and Nocentini date the word before 1274, in the form iusto.[2][6] DELI's first record is in Brunetto Latini, before 1294, in the sense “in keeping with justice”, with many other examples from the same century; the noun “righteous person” is in Guittone d'Arezzo at the same time.[5] Guittone writes Deletta giusto in giustisia (the just man delights in justice).[7]

Semantic evolution

The sense “not too much and not too little” is in Dante (1304–1308), and “fitting, suitable” in Paolo da Certaldo in the 14th century.[5] “Exact, precise” is dated 1550 (Vasari), though a document from Cagliari already speaks of misure juste in 1318.[5] Giordano da Pisa, before 1311, applies the word to a judge, and Dante's Giusti son due (two are just, Inferno 6) uses it as a noun.[5][7]

The adverb “exactly” is in Ariosto (1532), and “just, precisely” in Boccalini (before 1613).[5] The noun “what is due by justice” is recorded before 1555.[5] In music giusto marks a strict tempo or a perfect interval; the musical term passed into French, into English in the 19th century and into German in 1839.[12][13][14]

Timeline

  • Before 1274 – The form iusto is recorded.[2][6]
  • Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses giusto for “in keeping with justice”, Guittone uses it as a noun.[5]
  • 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for “neither too much nor too little”.[5]
  • Before 1311 – Giordano da Pisa uses it of one who judges justly.[5]
  • 1532 – Ariosto uses the adverb “exactly”.[5]
  • 1550 – Vasari uses it for “exact, precise”.[5]
  • 1839 – The musical term is recorded in German.[12]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. just, fair: acting or judging according to justice: un arbitro giusto.[2][15][16]
  2. In keeping with justice: una legge giusta, una giusta punizione.[2][15]
  3. Legitimate, well-founded; deserved: una giusta pretesa.[2][13]
  4. Right, correct, exact: il risultato giusto, l'ora giusta.[2][13][14]
  5. Suitable, appropriate: è l'uomo giusto per quel posto.[2][13]
  6. Of the right amount; of clothes, just the right size or slightly tight.[2][14]
  7. (music) Of an interval, perfect; of a tempo, strict.[13][14][12]

Adverb

  1. exactly, correctly: hai indovinato giusto.[15][3][1]
  2. Just, precisely: volevo giusto chiamarti.[3][1][5]

Noun

  1. A righteous person: dormire il sonno del giusto.[2][1][14]
  2. What is due or right: chiede solo il giusto.[5][14]

Word family

  • giustamente
  • giustezza
  • ingiusto
  • aggiustare
  • aggiustamento
  • raggiustare

Usage notes

GRADIT also has an obsolete, literary preposition giusto, a variant of giusta “according to”, from Latin iuxta.[2][17] Old examples include Chiaro Davanzati's a giusto mio podere (as far as I can).[17] DELI thinks that giusto mezzo (the happy medium) depends on French juste milieu (Pascal, before 1662).[5] Other common phrases are giusta causa (just cause) and il sonno del giusto (the sleep of the just).[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  3. ^ a b c Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
  4. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  6. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 6, 914
  8. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1825
  9. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  12. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
  13. ^ a b c d e Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  14. ^ a b c d e f Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  15. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  16. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  17. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 6, 919

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Giusto.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/giusto. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·