Judiciary

How to spell judiciary

9 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce judiciary

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does judiciary mean?

1. nounThe branch of government, or the collective body of judges, responsible for interpreting and applying the law.

Judiciary in a sentence

• An independent judiciary is essential to a fair democracy.

• The report criticised political interference in the judiciary.

Where does judiciary come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word descends from the Latin judiciarius, meaning 'relating to courts of law or judgement', which was built on judicium, 'a trial or judgement', and ultimately on judex, the 'judge'. That judex was itself a compact joining of jus, meaning 'law' or 'right', and a form of dicere, 'to say or pronounce', so a judge was quite literally 'one who pronounces the law'. English took the word up in the early 1600s, first as an adjective for things pertaining to the courts and soon as the collective noun for the whole body of judges and the system of justice. The same jus root still echoes in 'just', 'justice', and 'jury', while the dicere half surfaces in 'verdict' and 'dictate'. The tricky spelling, that quiet '-ciary' ending, comes straight from the Latin '-ciarius', which is why it never sounds quite as it is written.

How the word is built

• judic- (from Latin judex, judic-: judge)
• -iary (noun/adjective suffix denoting office or relation)