Etymograph

English

judge

Judge comes from Middle English juge, and goes back to Latin iūdex.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūdex1
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400juge1
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500juge1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1625judge1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English judge
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1625, Francis Bacon, Of Judicature: “The parts of a judge in hearing are four:…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūdexWiktionary, English judge
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400jugeWiktionary, English judge
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500jugeWiktionary, English judge
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1625judgeWiktionary, English judge. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1625, Francis Bacon, Of Judicature: “The parts of a judge in hearing are four:…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with judge, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Latin iūdex

  • judicial ← iūdiciālis ← iūdicium ← iūdicō
  • preach ← prechen ← prëechier ← praedicō ← dicō
  • judgment ← juggement ← jugement ← iūdicāmentum ← iūdicō
  • judiciary ← iudiciarius ← iūdicium ← iūdicō
  • prejudice ← praeiūdicium ← iūdicium ← iūdicō
  • predicament ← praedicāmentum ← praedicō ← dicō ← iūdicō
  • predicate ← praedicātus ← praedicō ← dicō ← iūdicō
  • judicious ← judicieux ← iudico
  • adjudicate ← adiūdicō ← iūdicō
  • judicature ← iudicatura ← iudicō

11 more relatives in the full family tree

No ads, ever.

Become a founding member, $29 onceI have a code

Explore everything descended from iūdex →

Another origin of judge

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yew-‘straight, upright, right’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yéwosreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jowos‘court of law’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūs‘law, right’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūdex
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūdicōas iūdicāre‘to examine judicially, judge, pass judgement, decide’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400jugier‘to judge’
  8. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400juger
  9. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500jugen‘to judge’
  10. Englishtodayjudge

Partly displaced native deem.

No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.

Become a founding member, $29 onceWear this word, $32Support the app

Today it means

noun A public official whose duty it is to administer the law, especially by presiding over trials and rendering judgments; a justice.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “judge”. 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 / Latin iūdex / judge