English
judgment
Judgment comes from Old French jugement, from Latin iūdicō ‘to examine judicially, judge, pass judgement,…’, 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
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūs1‘law, right’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūdex1‘judge’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūdicō2‘to examine judicially, judge, pass judgement, decide’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEiūdicāmentum2
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400jugement2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500juggement2
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1591judgment2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin iudico
- 2 Wiktionary, English judgment
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1591, William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona: “She in my judgment was as fair as you.”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yew-Wiktionary, Latin iudico‘straight, upright, right’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yéwosWiktionary, Latin iudicoreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jowosWiktionary, Latin iudico‘court of law’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūsWiktionary, Latin iudico‘law, right’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūdexWiktionary, Latin iudico‘judge’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūdicōWiktionary, English judgment‘to examine judicially, judge, pass judgement, decide’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEiūdicāmentumWiktionary, English judgment
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400jugementWiktionary, English judgment
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500juggementWiktionary, English judgment
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1591judgmentWiktionary, English judgment. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1591, William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona: “She in my judgment was as fair as you.”
The story
Partially displaced doom.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew- ‘straight, upright, right’
yet, jurist, injurious, 22 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂yéwos
justify, justification, injustice, 21 more
through Proto-Italic *jowos ‘court of law’
through Latin iūs ‘law, right’
through Latin iūdex ‘judge’
through Latin iūdicō ‘to examine judicially, judge, pass judgement,…’
judge, judicial, preach, judiciary, prejudice, predicament, predicate, judicious, adjudicate, judicature, 11 more
Today it means
noun The act of judging.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “judgment”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin iudico. 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- / judgment