English
injustice
Injustice comes from Old French injustice, from Latin iniustitia ‘injustice, unfairness, inequity’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew- ‘straight, upright, right’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yew-1‘straight, upright, right’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yéwos1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jowos1‘court of law’reconstructed
- Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCE*iowos1reconstructed
- Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEiovestos1
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūstus1‘just, righteous’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūstitia1‘justice, fairness, equity’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiniustitia2‘injustice, unfairness, inequity’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400injustice2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500injustice2
- Englishearliest quotation 1971injustice2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin iniustitia
- 2 Wiktionary, English injustice
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1971, Lyndon Johnson, The Vantage Point: “I was not just the President of Southern Americans…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yew-Wiktionary, Latin iniustitia‘straight, upright, right’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yéwosWiktionary, Latin iniustitiareconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jowosWiktionary, Latin iniustitia‘court of law’reconstructed
- Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCE*iowosWiktionary, Latin iniustitiareconstructed
- Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEiovestosWiktionary, Latin iniustitia
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūstusWiktionary, Latin iniustitia‘just, righteous’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūstitiaWiktionary, Latin iniustitia‘justice, fairness, equity’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiniustitiaWiktionary, English injustice‘injustice, unfairness, inequity’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400injusticeWiktionary, English injustice
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500injusticeWiktionary, English injustice
- Englishearliest quotation 1971injusticeWiktionary, English injustice. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1971, Lyndon Johnson, The Vantage Point: “I was not just the President of Southern Americans…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew- ‘straight, upright, right’
yet, jurist, injurious, 23 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂yéwos
through Proto-Italic *jowos ‘court of law’
judge, judgment, judicial, preach, judiciary, prejudice, predicament, predicate, judicious, adjudicate, judicature, 24 more
through Archaic Latin *iowos
through Archaic Latin iovestos
justify, justification, 3 more
through Latin iūstus ‘just, righteous’
Today it means
noun Absence of justice; unjustice.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “injustice”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin iniustitia. 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- / injustice