Etymograph

English

adjuration

Adjuration comes from Latin adiuratio ‘swearing’, from Proto-Italic *jowos ‘court of law’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew- ‘straight, upright, right’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yew-1‘straight, upright, right’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yéwos1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jowos1‘court of law’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCE*iowos1reconstructed
  5. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEiovesō1
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūrō1‘swear by oath’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadiuro2‘to swear to, to put to an oath’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadiuratio3‘swearing’past participle stem of adiuro
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1855adjuration3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin adiuro
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin adiuratio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English adjuration
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1855, – 1857 June, Charles Dickens: “The visitor, observing that she held the door on…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yew-Wiktionary, Latin adiuro‘straight, upright, right’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yéwosWiktionary, Latin adiuroreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jowosWiktionary, Latin adiuro‘court of law’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCE*iowosWiktionary, Latin adiuroreconstructed
  5. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEiovesōWiktionary, Latin adiuro
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūrōWiktionary, Latin adiuro‘swear by oath’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadiuroWiktionary, Latin adiuratio‘to swear to, to put to an oath’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadiuratioWiktionary, English adjuration‘swearing’past participle stem of adiuro
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1855adjurationWiktionary, English adjuration. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1855, – 1857 June, Charles Dickens: “The visitor, observing that she held the door on…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew- ‘straight, upright, right’

yet, jurist, injurious, 21 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂yéwos

injustice, prejudge, 20 more

through Proto-Italic *jowos ‘court of law’

judge, justice, judgment, judicial, justify, judiciary, preach, prejudice, predicament, justification, predicate, judicious, adjudicate, judicature, 23 more

through Archaic Latin *iowos

just, 13 more

through Latin iūrō ‘swear by oath’

jury, conjure, 7 more

Today it means

noun A grave warning.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “adjuration”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin adiuro, Latin adiuratio. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew- / adjuration

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