iustificatio

Forms

iūstificātiō f (genitive iūstificātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin iūstificō (“to justify”) + -tiō,^[1][2][3] itself from iūstus (“just”) and -ficō (“to make”).^[1] Ambrose already noted that it was derived from iūstitia.^[2] In the Bible translations it renders Ancient Greek δικαίωμα (dikaíōma),^[2] and the glosses equate it with δικαίωσις (dikaíōsis).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Tertullian.^[4] The TLL calls it a word of the Holy Scriptures, on which the church writers depend.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the early Bible translations and the Vulgate it means a precept or ordinance, often in the plural beside praecepta and caeremoniae;^[2][5][6] Hilary of Poitiers distinguishes the law, the precept, the judgement, the iustificatio and the testimony.^[2] From Salvian and Augustine on it also means justification.^[5][7]

Medieval Latin used it for the justification of man before God,^[8][9] and in law for bringing to justice, for compensation, for clearing oneself of a charge,^[8] and for the testimony of an oath-helper.^[9] Thomas Aquinas uses it for doing what is just, the Aristotelian dikaiōma.^[10] English took the word over in the late 14th century, first for the administration of justice,^[11] and Italian giustificazione comes from the Late Latin word.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 160–220 AD – Köbler names Tertullian as its first author.^[4]
• c. 315–367/368 AD – Hilary of Poitiers sets it beside the law, the precept and the judgement.^[2][4]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate pairs caerimoniae and iustificationes.^[5][4]
• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it in the City of God.^[5][7][4]
• 798 – Alcuin writes that Christ rose again for our justification.^[9]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as justification.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin, Ecclesiastical Latin) A precept, ordinance of the law.^[2][5][6]
2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) justification, the making just of a sinner before God.^[5][7][8][9]
3. (Medieval Latin, law) Bringing to justice; compensation, redress.^[8]
4. (Medieval Latin, law) Clearing oneself of a charge; the testimony of an oath-helper.^[8][9]
5. (Medieval Latin) The doing of what is just.^[10]

Related words

• iūstus
• English justification

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b c d e 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 Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com