judge

English Online Dictionary. What means judge‎? What does judge mean?

English

Alternative forms

• judg (obsolete), iudge (obsolete typography)

Pronunciation

• enPR: jŭj, IPA^(key): /d͡ʒʌd͡ʒ/
• Rhymes: -ʌdʒ

Etymology 1

From Middle English juge, jugge, from Old French juge, from Latin iūdex. Displaced native Middle English deme (from Old English dēma (“judge”)) and demere (from Old English dēmere (“judge”)), see also deemer, deemster.

Noun

judge (plural judges)

2. A public official whose duty it is to administer the law, especially by presiding over trials and rendering judgments; a justice.
3. A person who decides the fate of someone or something that has been called into question.
4. A person officiating at a sports event, a contest, or similar; referee.

5. A person who evaluates something or forms an opinion.

6. (historical, biblical) A shophet, a temporary leader appointed in times of crisis in ancient Israel.

Synonyms

• (one who judges in an official capacity): magistrate (now usually of low rank); justice (now usually of high rank); justiciar, justiciary (historic, of high rank); chief justice, Chief Justiciar, Capital Justiciary, Chief Justiciary, justiciar, justiciary (of the highest rank); justicer (obsolete); sheriff, bailiff, reeve (historic or obsolete); doomsman (obsolete)
• (one who judges generally): deemer, deemster

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Assamese: জজ (zoz)
• → Bengali: জজ (joj)
• → Hindustani:

  Hindi: जज (jaj)

  Urdu: جَج (jaj)

• → Odia: ଜଜ୍ (jaj)
• → Tamil: ஜட்ஜி (jaṭji)
• → Telugu: జడ్జ (jaḍja)

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English jugen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman juger, from Old French jugier, from Latin iūdicāre. Doublet of judicate.

Mostly displaced native deem.

Verb

judge (third-person singular simple present judges, present participle judging, simple past and past participle judged)

1. (transitive) To sit in judgment on; to pass sentence on (a person or matter).

2. (intransitive) To sit in judgment, to act as judge.

3. (transitive) To judicially rule or determine.
4. (transitive, obsolete) To sentence to punishment, to judicially condemn.

5. (transitive, obsolete) To award judicially; to adjudge.
6. (transitive) To form an opinion on; to appraise.
   • c. 1921, Michael Collins, after the Anglo-Irish Treaty:

     Let us be judged for what we attempted rather than what we achieved.

7. (transitive, obsolete) To constitute a fitting appraisal or criterion of; to provide a basis for forming an opinion on.
8. (intransitive) To arbitrate; to pass opinion on something, especially to settle a dispute etc.

9. (transitive) To have as an opinion; to consider, suppose.

10. (ambitransitive) To form an opinion; to infer.
11. (ambitransitive) To criticize or label another person or thing; to be judgmental toward.
12. (ambitransitive) To govern as biblical judge or shophet (over some jurisdiction).

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:deem

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• abjudge
• abjudicate
• adjudicate
• judgment
• judicator
• judicial
• judiciary
• prejudice
• magistrate