Etymograph

English

just

Just comes from Old French juste, from Latin iūstus ‘just, righteous’, from Proto-Italic *jowestos ‘legal’, from *jowos ‘court of law’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew- ‘straight, right’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yew-1‘straight, right’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jowos1‘court of law; oath’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jowestos1‘legal’reconstructed
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEiovestos1
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūstus1‘just, righteous’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400juste1
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500juste1
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1580just1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English just
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1580, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., [The Second Booke] Chapter 19: “The god Pan […] guided my hand so just…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂yew-Wiktionary, English just‘straight, right’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jowosWiktionary, English just‘court of law; oath’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jowestosWiktionary, English just‘legal’reconstructed
  4. Old Latinc. 700–75 BCEiovestosWiktionary, English just
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūstusWiktionary, English just‘just, righteous’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400justeWiktionary, English just
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500justeWiktionary, English just
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1580justWiktionary, English just. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1580, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., [The Second Booke] Chapter 19: “The god Pan […] guided my hand so just…”

Word family

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

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew- ‘right, justice, law’

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

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂yéwos

  • prejudge ← préjuger ← praeiudico ← iūdicō ← iūdex

through Proto-Italic *jowos ‘court of law’

  • judge ← jugen ← juger ← jugier ← iūdicō
  • judgment ← juggement ← jugement ← iūdicāmentum ← iūdicō
  • judicial ← iūdiciālis ← iūdicium ← iūdicō ← iūdex
  • preach ← prechen ← prëechier ← praedicō ← dicō
  • judiciary ← iudiciarius ← iūdicium ← iūdicō ← iūdex
  • prejudice ← praeiūdicium ← iūdicium ← iūdicō ← iūdex
  • predicament ← praedicāmentum ← praedicō ← dicō ← iūdicō
  • predicate ← praedicātus ← praedicō ← dicō ← iūdicō

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Another origin of just

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(H)yewg-es-uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jougos‘team of yoke animals’uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jougestos‘yoked’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiuxta‘near, besides’uncertain
  5. Englishtodayjust

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Today it means

adj Factually right, correct; factual.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “just”. 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- / just