jude

Forms

jude m (plural juzi)^[1] The old plural was judeci, on which a singular judec was rebuilt; the Coresi Psalter of 1570 has „judele oamenilor” “the prince of the people” (Psalm 104:20).^[2][3][4] The 1651 Psalter writes the plural giudecii: „cu boiarii și cu giudecii oamenilor” “with the boyars and the princes of the people” (Psalm 112:8).^[3][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin iūdex (“judge”).^[2][6][7][1] The singular continues the Latin nominative, while the old plural ⟨judeci⟩ continues iūdicēs, as in cap with its plural ⟨capete⟩; a singular ⟨judec⟩ was later rebuilt from the plural.^[2][8]

Its Romance cognates include Italian giudice, French juge, Spanish juez and Portuguese juiz.^[2][9] The DA notes that in medieval Logudorese the cognate meant the head of state.^[10][9] It is related to judeca and județ.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is first recorded in Moldavia in 1409, in a Slavonic charter that names a certain Neagăș jude.^[10][3] The DA argues that since the Slavonic documents keep the Romanian word, the office was not the same as the cneaz; in Wallachia the Slavonic documents translate it as sudec.^[10] In Romanian texts it first appears in the Coresi Psalter of 1570, as a title of rulers, “prince”.^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

In the old Romanian principalities the jude was a dignitary with judicial and administrative powers, which changed over the centuries; in 15th-century Moldavia the office was held for life and could be inherited.^[10][2] Like cneaz, in Wallachia it came to mean a free peasant, as opposed to a serf.^[10][7] In the religious texts it means “prince, ruler”, rendering the Slavonic word for prince.^[3][5]

Later senses are “judge”, now archaic, the mayor of a Transylvanian village, the chief of a group of Roma bondsmen, and the leader of a band of Christmas carollers.^[7][6][3] The modern word for a judge is judecător.^[11]

Timeline

• 1409 – a Neagăș jude in a Moldavian Slavonic charter, the first record.^[10][3]
• 1481 – judece “free peasant” in a Moldavian document.^[3]
• 1570 – judele “prince” in the Coresi Psalter.^[4]
• c. 1573–1578 – in the Psaltirea Scheiană, MDA2's first record.^[6]
• 1594 – the Slavonic rendering sudec in a Wallachian document.^[10]
• 1651 – the plural giudecii in a Psalter.^[3]
• 1711 – judele țiganilor, the chief of Roma bondsmen, in a document.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (historical) In the old Romanian principalities, a dignitary with judicial and administrative powers; a lord of serfs; also a prince.^[7][6][1]
2. (historical, Wallachia) A peasant who had become free by buying himself out of serfdom.^[7]
3. (historical) The ruler and judge of several Roma camps.^[7]
4. (archaic) A judge.^[7][12]
5. (regional, archaic, Transylvania) The mayor of a village.^[7][13]
6. The leader of a band of carollers.^[6][3]

Word family

• judeceasă
• judeci
• judecie

Related words

• județ
• judeca
• judecător

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. jude
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. jude
4. ^ a b c Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Ungureanu, Mădălina; Moruz, Alexandru et al., roPsalt: Re-evaluating the Sixteenth Century Romanian Psalters (aligned corpus), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. Ps 104:20
5. ^ a b Costinescu, Mariana; Georgescu, Magdalena; Zgraon, Florentina (1987), Dicționarul limbii române literare vechi (1640–1780): termeni regionali, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 1, 163
6. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1289
7. ^ a b c d e f g h DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 567
8. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. s.v. jude
9. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 4599
10. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română (1913–1949), Dicționarul limbii române (DA), ed. Sextil Pușcariu, tom I (A–B, C, D–De) and tom II (F–I, J–Lojniță), București: Socec / Universul / Monitorul Oficial și Imprimeriile Statului; page scans at cflr-scans.solirom.ro, p. s.v. jude
11. ^ Cihac, A. de (1870), Dictionnaire d'étymologie daco-romane I: Éléments latins comparés avec les autres langues romanes, Frankfurt am Main, p. 134
12. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. jude
13. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 705