ius

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈjuːs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈjus]^[1]

Forms

iūs n (genitive iūris); third declension^[1] Archaic inscriptions spell it ious.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *jowos (“oath, law”), which de Vaan derives from Proto-Indo-European *h₂óyu (“vital force, eternity”).^[3] Wiktionary gives Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew- (“straight, right”), an extended form of the root *h₂ey- (“vital force”), also the source of aevum and iuvenis.^[1] From it came iūstus “just” and the verb iūrāre “to swear”, already found as iouesat on the Duenos inscription.^[3]

Cognate with Old Irish uisse (“just, fitting”), Sanskrit योस् (yóṣ, “welfare”) and Avestan yaoš (“life, health”).^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It appears in the Laws of the Twelve Tables.^[3][4] Plautus calls a schemer “the maker of all laws and rights”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It meant law, what is sanctioned or ordained, as Cicero asks whether law exists among men by nature or by opinion.^[2] It was a legal system, so that a iuris consultus was a lawyer and iuris prudentia jurisprudence, and a particular rule.^[2] Ius dicere was to administer justice, ius iurandum was an oath, and in ius vocare to summon to court, as in Plautus' ambula in ius, “come to court”.^[2][5]

It also meant what is right and equitable, and unwritten codes such as ius gentium, the law of nations.^[2] It was the duties and claims of a relationship, one's due or right, the right to do something, legal standing, and authority or jurisdiction.^[2] Medieval Latin also used it for a due or tax.^[6] English just, justice and jury come from its relatives iustus, iustitia and iurare.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 450 BC – The Twelve Tables use it.^[4]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it for laws and for the court.^[2][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it for law, rights and ius gentium.^[2][4]
• mid-12th century – English justice is first recorded.^[7]
• late 14th century – English just is first recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. Law, right.^[2][8]
2. A legal system, iuris consultus a lawyer.^[2]
3. A rule, ordinance.^[2]
4. A legal ruling, ius dicere to administer justice.^[2][5]
5. ius iurandum An oath.^[2]
6. A court of law, in ius vocare to summon to court.^[2][1]
7. Equity, justice.^[2]
8. ius gentium The law of nations.^[2]
9. A right, due, privilege.^[2][1]
10. Authority, jurisdiction.^[2]
11. (Medieval Latin) A due, tax.^[6]

Word family

• iniūrius
• iūrecōnsultus
• iūridicus
• iūriscōnsultus
• iūrisdictiō
• iūrisperītus
• iūrisprūdentia
• iurisonus
• iūsiūrandum
• iūstitium
• iūstus

Related words

• aevum
• iūgis
• iuvenis
• iūrō
• iūdex
• English just
• English justice
• English jury

Usage notes

A different word, iūs “broth, sauce”, comes from Proto-Indo-European *yewHs (“soup”) and is cognate with Sanskrit यूष (yūṣa, “soup”), and Plautus and Cicero use it.^[3][2][1]

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 n o p q r s t u Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press