iurisprudentia

Forms

iūrisprūdentia f (genitive iūrisprūdentiae); first declension^[1] Often written as two words, iūris prūdentia;^[2][3][4] the OLD treats it under prūdentia.^[5]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin iūs² (“law”) + prūdentia (“knowledge”), with the first part in the genitive ⟨iūris⟩ “of law”.^[6][7][8] Wiktionary derives it instead from iūrisprūdēns (“expert at law”) with the suffix -ia.^[1] Cicero already has the phrase in the reverse order, ⟨prūdentia iūris⟩.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ulpian defines it, in a passage kept in the Digest, as the knowledge of divine and human affairs and the science of the just and unjust (divinarum atque humanarum rerum notitia, iusti atque iniusti scientia).^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

It is a post-Classical term of the jurists for the science of law;^[2][4] Gaffiot calls the two-word form classical.^[2][4] Justinian's Institutes repeat Ulpian's definition,^[2] and so, in the 15th century, does Sir John Fortescue.^[9] In Ecclesiastical Latin it also means the practice of judges and tribunals, the way cases are handled in court.^[10] English borrowed it in the 1620s, from French and directly from Latin.^[6]

Timeline

• before 223 AD – Ulpian defines iūris prūdentia.^[2][3][7]
• 528–534 AD – It is used in the Code of Justinian.^[7]
• 533 AD – Justinian's Institutes open with Ulpian's definition.^[2][7]
• 1620s – Borrowed into English as jurisprudence.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. Knowledge of the law; jurisprudence, the science of law.^[2][3][4]
2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) The practice of courts and judges in dealing with cases.^[10]

Related words

• English jurisprudence

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
8. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
9. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson