Etymograph

English

jury

Jury comes from Anglo-Norman juree, from Medieval Latin iūrāta, from Latin iūrō ‘to swear’, from iūs ‘law, right’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūs1‘law, right’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūrō1‘to swear or take an oath’
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500iūrāta1
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400juree1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500jure1‘jury’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1828jury1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English jury
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1828, The New Monthly Magazine: “The jury which decides on the first night usually…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūsWiktionary, English jury‘law, right’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūrōWiktionary, English jury‘to swear or take an oath’
  3. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500iūrātaWiktionary, English jury
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400jureeWiktionary, English jury
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500jureWiktionary, English jury‘jury’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1828juryWiktionary, English jury. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1828, The New Monthly Magazine: “The jury which decides on the first night usually…”

Word family

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

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

  • yet ← ġīet ← *jūta ← *juta
  • injurious ← enjurius ← iniūriōsus
  • jurist ← juriste

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂yéwos

  • injustice ← iniustitia ← iūstitia ← iūstus ← iovestos
  • prejudge ← préjuger ← praeiudico ← iūdicō ← iūdex

through Proto-Italic *jowos ‘court of law’

  • justice ← justise ← iūstitia ← iūstus ← iūs
  • judge ← jugen ← juger ← jugier ← iūdicō
  • judgment ← juggement ← jugement ← iūdicāmentum ← iūdicō
  • judicial ← iūdiciālis ← iūdicium ← iūdicō ← iūdex
  • justify ← justifien ← justifier ← justificare ← iūstus
  • preach ← prechen ← prëechier ← praedicō ← dicō
  • justification ← justificacioun ← iustificationem ← iustifico ← iustus

98 more relatives in the full family tree

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Another origin of jury

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiuvōas iuvere‘to help, aid’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadiuvō‘help, assist’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadiūtōnext step skipped: Frankish *garu
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400ajurieuncertain
  5. Englishtodayjury

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Today it means

noun A group of individuals chosen from the general population to hear and decide a case in a court of law.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “jury”. 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 iūs / jury