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justice - 10 dictionary results

jus⋅tice

  [juhs-tis]
Use justice in a Sentence
–noun
1. the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness: to uphold the justice of a cause.
2. rightfulness or lawfulness, as of a claim or title; justness of ground or reason: to complain with justice.
3. the moral principle determining just conduct.
4. conformity to this principle, as manifested in conduct; just conduct, dealing, or treatment.
5. the administering of deserved punishment or reward.
6. the maintenance or administration of what is just by law, as by judicial or other proceedings: a court of justice.
7. judgment of persons or causes by judicial process: to administer justice in a community.
8. a judicial officer; a judge or magistrate.
9. (initial capital letter) Also called Justice Department. the Department of Justice.
—Idioms
10. bring to justice, to cause to come before a court for trial or to receive punishment for one's misdeeds: The murderer was brought to justice.
11. do justice,
a. to act or treat justly or fairly.
b. to appreciate properly: We must see this play again to do it justice.
c. to acquit in accordance with one's abilities or potentialities: He finally got a role in which he could do himself justice as an actor.
Origin:
1150–1200; ME < OF < L jūstitia, equiv. to jūst(us) just 1 + -itia -ice

Related forms:
jus⋅tice⋅less, adjective

Jus⋅tice

  [juhs-tis]
–noun
1. Donald, born 1925, U.S. poet.
2. a town in NE Illinois. 10,552.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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jus·tice   (jŭs'tĭs)   
n.  
  1. The quality of being just; fairness.
    1. The principle of moral rightness; equity.
    2. Conformity to moral rightness in action or attitude; righteousness.
    3. The upholding of what is just, especially fair treatment and due reward in accordance with honor, standards, or law.
    4. Law The administration and procedure of law.
    5. A judge.
    6. A justice of the peace.
    1. The upholding of what is just, especially fair treatment and due reward in accordance with honor, standards, or law.
    2. Law The administration and procedure of law.
    3. A judge.
    4. A justice of the peace.
  4. Conformity to truth, fact, or sound reason: The overcharged customer was angry, and with justice.
  5. Abbr. J. Law
    1. A judge.
    2. A justice of the peace.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin iūstitia, from iūstus, just; see just1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Justice

Jus"tice\, n. [F., fr. L. justitia, fr. justus just. See Just, a.]

1. The quality of being just; conformity to the principles of righteousness and rectitude in all things; strict performance of moral obligations; practical conformity to human or divine law; integrity in the dealings of men with each other; rectitude; equity; uprightness.

Justice and judgment are the haditation of thy throne. -- Ps. ixxxix. 11.

The king-becoming graces, As justice, verity, temperance, stableness, . . . I have no relish of them. -- Shak.

2. Conformity to truth and reality in expressing opinions and in conduct; fair representation of facts respecting merit or demerit; honesty; fidelity; impartiality; as, the justice of a description or of a judgment; historical justice.

3. The rendering to every one his due or right; just treatment; requital of desert; merited reward or punishment; that which is due to one's conduct or motives.

This even-handed justice Commends the ingredients of our poisoned chalice To our own lips. -- Shak.

4. Agreeableness to right; equity; justness; as, the justice of a claim.

5. A person duly commissioned to hold courts, or to try and decide controversies and administer justice.

Note: This title is given to the judges of the common law courts in England and in the United States, and extends to judicial officers and magistrates of every grade.

Bed of justice. See under Bed.

Chief justice. See in the Vocabulary.

Justice of the peace (Law), a judicial officer or subordinate magistrate appointed for the conservation of the peace in a specified district, with other incidental powers specified in his commission. In the United States a justice of the peace has jurisdiction to adjudicate certain minor cases, commit offenders, etc.

Syn: Equity; law; right; rectitude; honesty; integrity; uprightness; fairness; impartiality.

Usage: Justice, Equity, Law. Justice and equity are the same; but human laws, though designed to secure justice, are of necessity imperfect, and hence what is strictly legal is at times far from being equitable or just. Here a court of equity comes in to redress the grievances. It does so, as distinguished from courts of law; and as the latter are often styled courts of justice, some have fancied that there is in this case a conflict between justice and equity. The real conflict is against the working of the law; this a court of equity brings into accordance with the claims of justice. It would be an unfortunate use of language which should lead any one to imagine he might have justice on his side while practicing iniquity (inequity). Justice, Rectitude. Rectitude, in its widest sense, is one of the most comprehensive words in our language, denoting absolute conformity to the rule of right in principle and practice. Justice refers more especially to the carrying out of law, and has been considered by moralists as of three kinds: (1) Commutative justice, which gives every man his own property, including things pledged by promise. (2) Distributive justice, which gives every man his exact deserts. (3) General justice, which carries out all the ends of law, though not in every case through the precise channels of commutative or distributive justice; as we see often done by a parent or a ruler in his dealings with those who are subject to his control.

Justice

Jus"tice\, v. t. To administer justice to. [Obs.] --Bacon.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : justice
Spanish: justicia,
German: die Gerechtigkeit,
Japanese: 正義
More Translations »

Justice

A figure in painting and sculpture that symbolizes the impartiality of true justice. The figure of Justice usually appears as a blindfolded woman with a scale in one hand and a sword in the other.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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justice 
1140, "the exercise of authority in vindication of right by assigning reward or punishment," from O.Fr. justise, from L. justitia "righteousness, equity," from justus "upright, just" (see just (adj.)). The O.Fr. word had widespread senses, including "uprightness, equity, vindication of right, court of justice, judge." The word began to be used in Eng. c.1200 as a title for a judicial officer. Meaning "the administration of law" is from 1303. Justice of the peace first attested 1320. In the Mercian hymns, L. justitia is glossed by O.E. rehtwisnisse.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: jus·tice
Pronunciation: 'j&s-t&s
Function: noun
Etymology: Old French, from Latin justitia, from justus just
1 a : the quality of being just, impartial, or fair justice or injustice…of these laws —Scott v. Sanford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857)> b : the principle or ideal of just dealing; also : conformity to the principle or ideal of just dealing
2 a : the administration of law justice>; especially : the establishment or determination of rights according to law or equity justice> b : fair, just, or impartial legal process justice —G. Railroad Winters>
3 : JUDGE; especially : a judge of an appellate court or court of last resort (as a supreme court) justices and threats of civil disobedience were bandied freely —Railroad H. Bork>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Justice

is rendering to every one that which is his due. It has been distinguished from equity in this respect, that while justice means merely the doing what positive law demands, equity means the doing of what is fair and right in every separate case.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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justice

see do justice to; miscarriage of justice; poetic justice.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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