justice

nouncommon in dialogue

Canada//ˈd͡ʒʌs.tɪs//
Australia//ˈd͡ʒɐs.tɪs//
New Zealand//ˈd͡ʒɐs.təs//

The state or characteristic of being just or fair.

noun

1
The state or characteristic of being just or fair.
the justice of a description
This even-handed justice / Commends the ingredients of our poisoned chalice / To our own lips.
God recognized the justice of the moon's plea and compensated for its diminution by promising that only the moon would be seen both day and night.
2
The ideal of fairness, impartiality, etc., especially with regard to the punishment of wrongdoing.
Justice was served.
The perfect society is not to be an embodiment of the idea of justice, but one in which that idea has no meaning, since it is bound up with private property and the regulation of property relationships.
3
Judgment and punishment of a party who has allegedly wronged another.
to demand justice
4
The civil power dealing with law.
Ministry of Justice
the justice system
5
A title given to judges of certain courts; capitalized when placed before a name.
Mr. Justice Krever presides over the appellate court
Gee, I guess that’s up to the justices. Can’t imagine this court — which I find too conservative but not crazy — is going to issue a ruling that says a president can break any law in the land as an “official act” without consequence.
6
Correctness, conforming to reality or rules.
As to Perſons of Quality, they give Security to appropriate a certain Sum for each Child, ſuitable to their Condition; and theſe Funds are always managed with good Husbandry and the moſt exact Juſtice.

Etymology

From Middle English justice, from Old French justise, justice (Modern French justice), from Latin iūstitia (“righteousness, equity”), from iūstus (“just”), from iūs (“right”), from Proto-Italic *jowos, perhaps literally "sacred formula", a word peculiar to Latin (not general Italic) that originated in the religious cults, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew-. Doublet of Justitia. Partly displaced native Old English rihtwīsnes (Modern English righteousness < rightwiseness).

Forms

plural: justices

juror · A member of a jury.jury · A group of individuals chosen from the general population to…just · Factually right, correct; factual.

justice · The state or characteristic of being just or fair.

Justice · The title of a justice of court.justification · A reason, explanation, or excuse which someone believes…justified · Having a justification.

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.