Jurisprudence

How to spell jurisprudence

13 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce jurisprudence

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does jurisprudence mean?

1. nounThe theory or philosophy of law, or a body of legal principles built up through court decisions.

Jurisprudence in a sentence

• The professor specialised in the jurisprudence of human rights.

• Decades of high court rulings shaped the jurisprudence on free speech.

Where does jurisprudence come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin jurisprudentia, a compound built from juris, the genitive form of jus meaning 'law' or 'legal right', and prudentia meaning 'knowledge, foresight, or practical wisdom'. That second element, prudentia, was itself a worn-down contraction of providentia, literally 'seeing ahead', so the original idea was something like 'skilled foresight in matters of law'. Roman writers used jurisprudentia for the systematic study and science of law practised by their jurists. English took the word in during the early 1600s, partly through French, and kept the full Latin shape almost intact. The 'juris' opening is the same root that gives us 'jury', 'justice', and 'perjury', and remembering that the word literally fuses 'law' with 'prudence' helps fix the tricky middle: it is juris plus prudence, not 'jur-as' or 'jura-prudence'.

How the word is built

• juris- (of law, from Latin jus, juris: law, right)
• prudence (from prudentia: knowledge, foresight, skill)