entry
unjust
/ʌnˈdʒʌst/Not fair, lawful, or morally right
From O.English / Germanic un- (not) + Latin, through Old French just (lawful).
Word Ancestry
A judge’s “just” decision began life as a legal idea, not a vague feeling of niceness: Latin ius meant “law” or “a right,” and iustus described what stood in accordance with it. That word crossed into Old French as juste and then arrived in Middle English, where speakers attached the sturdy negative prefix un- to make unjust—literally, “not just.” The word’s family has some surprising courtroom cousins: a jurist and a jury both carry the same Latin legal inheritance, while injury originally involved a wrong or violation of someone’s right. By the late 14th century, unjust could describe both a sinful person and an unlawful or wrongful action. Think of it as a tiny linguistic verdict: just says “the law is satisfied,” while un- turns the judge’s stamp upside down.
The Story
A judge’s “just” decision began life as a legal idea, not a vague feeling of niceness: Latin ius meant “law” or “a right,” and iustus described what stood in accordance with it. That word crossed into Old French as juste and then arrived in Middle English, where speakers attached the sturdy negative prefix un- to make unjust—literally, “not just.” The word’s family has some surprising courtroom cousins: a jurist and a jury both carry the same Latin legal inheritance, while injury originally involved a wrong or violation of someone’s right. By the late 14th century, unjust could describe both a sinful person and an unlawful or wrongful action. Think of it as a tiny linguistic verdict: just says “the law is satisfied,” while un- turns the judge’s stamp upside down.
Kin & Kindred
From 'un-'·not; opposite of
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'just'·lawful, right, fair
Derived Terms
English words from this root