English
judicial
Judicial comes from Latin iūdiciālis ‘belonging to the courts of justice’, from iūdicium ‘judgment, decision’, 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 CEiūdicō1‘to examine judicially, judge, pass judgement, decide’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūdicium1‘judgment, decision’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūdiciālis1‘belonging to the courts of justice’
- Englishearliest quotation 2013judicial1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English judicial
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, Can China clean up fast enough?: “It has jailed environmental activists and is planning to…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yew-Wiktionary, English judicial‘straight, upright, right’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yéwosWiktionary, English judicialreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jowosWiktionary, English judicial‘court of law’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūsWiktionary, English judicial‘law, right’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūdexWiktionary, English judicial‘judge’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūdicōWiktionary, English judicial‘to examine judicially, judge, pass judgement, decide’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūdiciumWiktionary, English judicial‘judgment, decision’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūdiciālisWiktionary, English judicial‘belonging to the courts of justice’
- Englishearliest quotation 2013judicialWiktionary, English judicial. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, Can China clean up fast enough?: “It has jailed environmental activists and is planning to…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew- ‘straight, upright, right’
yet, jurist, injurious, 25 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂yéwos
justify, justification, injustice, 24 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, judgment, preach, predicament, predicate, adjudicate, 14 more
through Latin iūdicium ‘judgment, decision’
Today it means
adj Of or relating to the administration of justice.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “judicial”. 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- / judicial