Etymologically
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ius

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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
  • 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