iniuste

Forms

iniūstē (comparative iniūstius, superlative iniūstissimē)^[1] It is also spelled injūstē.^[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin iniūstus (“unjust”) + -ē.^[3][1][4] De Vaan derives iūstus from iūs (“law”), which he traces to Proto-Italic *jowos (“oath, law”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₂oi-u (“vital force, eternity”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first quotation is in Plautus' Captivi, where a captive hopes his master will not command him unjustly or harshly.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It means unjustly or unfairly, and unreasonably: Cicero says of a man that he acts humanely in one thing but complains unreasonably.^[3] It is also unlawfully or wrongfully: Cicero speaks of a man who has harmed no one wrongfully.^[3] Köbler dates it from Cicero.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of an unjust master.^[3][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero, unreasonably and wrongfully.^[3][4]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Unjustly, unfairly; unreasonably.^[3][1]
2. Unlawfully, wrongfully.^[3]

Related words

• iniūstus
• iūstus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill