The Evolution of the Word Justice

Kayla Gates

The word “justice” has been a highly powerful and prevalent word for several centuries. Although this powerful word has kept roughly the same meaning for an extensive time in history, and it has kept its same denotation, it has grown into a drastically impactful word in modern times due to major historical events and several misfortunes in the African American community, Hispanic community, and others. Through the years, the magnitude and enforcement of justice has been questioned and demanded from many cultures and communities, which brings many people back to the simple meaning and origin of the word “justice.”

The etymology of the word “justice” is derived from the Anglo-Norman and Old French civilizations. Originally, the word was written justis, jostise, justiz, or justyse. Many words that originated from the Anglo-Norman and Central French were introduced due to the Norman Conquest in the year 1066, which completely changed the whole course of the English language. Due to the invasion of England by the Normans, the Normans eventually lost their Scandinavian tongue, and French became the essential language in the civilization and eventually became the Norman French language (Baugh, Cable 104-105). Because of the Norman conquest, words like “justice” became alive.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word “justice” means the “administration of law or equity” with several secondary meanings. Some of these meanings include “maintenance of what is just or right by the exercise of authority or power; assignment of deserved reward or punishment,” “punishment of an offender or retribution deemed appropriate for a crime,” “a place of execution, a gallows,” and “the administration of law” (OED). Each denotation of the word “justice” is fairly similar, and it has been used substantially beginning in the year 1160 and even more in modern society, especially from the 1950s to the present day.

Although the word has been alive for several centuries, in the past decade, the word “justice” has become more prevalent in modern society. According to the Google Ngram Viewer, which is the online search engine that records words and phrases and how often they were used in a specific time period, justice has always been commonly used, but its use continues to increase yearly. On the Google Ngram Viewer, which only reaches back to the 1500s, there is a constant but gradual increase and decrease of the word; its usage often fluctuates through time. In the beginning of the 1500s, “justice” was used very seldom, but it shifted intensively until the year 1566. In that year, the usage of this word dramatically increased, and it is speculated that this was due to a surge of witch-hunts that took place in modern Europe and colonial America. The fear of witchcraft practices by women began in the mid-1400s, but the height of hysteria and skepticism reached its peak in the 1500s and eventually ended in the 1700s. The witch-hunts and witch trials led to 35,000 to 100,000 executions, and many were only executed for minor and petty reasons or because they simply appeared skeptical, but many were not even witches (“Early History of Punishment and the Development of Prisons in the United States”). The method by which many potential witches were executed was by being burned at the stake. It was believed that this form of execution would purify their soul and rid the person of the evil spirits that they were communicating with. Since this was forbidden during this time period, executing the potential witches was considered just in their eyes.

The Evolution of the Word Justice

Kayla Gates

There were other minor fluctuations in the use of this word in the 1700s and early 1800s. It was used heavily in 1764, 1792, and 1812. There are several reasons throughout history why this word possibly increased in usage. One speculation is that there were important wars like the French and Indian War, the French Revolution, and the War of 1812. These major events could have caused the rise in its use. For example, the War of 1812 was fought between Great Britain and the United States. The United States wanted to gain more territory, and the United States was dissatisfied with the restrictions on trade. Therefore, they believed that it was just to take on Great Britain, which was known to be the greatest naval power (“War of 1812”). This same reasoning can be applied to the other wars that could have contributed to the Google Ngram showing a major increase in this word’s use.

There is not another major spike in the usage of the word “justice” until the period from the 1950s to the 1990s. This sudden increase is likely due to many cases of injustice toward African Americans. The injustice mostly included segregation and the constant fight and battle to be treated as equals. One of the major turning points was the death of Emmett Till and the lack of justice for him or his family. In the Google Ngram, it is obvious that the use of the word “justice” increased drastically due to the era of segregation, inequality, and injustice. It possibly grew due to the constant protest and rebuttal of upset African Americans yearning for peace and justice. Although the Google Ngram stops at the year 2008, the rise of the word was increasing considerably and has most likely increased even more due to the Black Lives Matter movement as well as the police brutality cases. The word has merely changed its connotation; before, the word “injustice” was more used regarding court and an offender getting the correct, justified punishment. On the contrary, in present times, it has become more negative and used more regarding topics on race and culture.

Furthermore, the use of the word “justice” may have also increased due to many people, in particular Mexican immigrants, coming to America. In the 1950s and 1960s, many Mexicans began to come to the United States for better opportunities than there were in Mexico, but, in 1996, President Clinton signed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA). The IIRIRA allowed immigrants to come into America with a green card allowing them to work. This was an extremely controversial law, and many Americans believed that it was unjust, wrong, and unfair for some immigrants to come and work. This led to a lot of hatred, resentment, mistreatment, and wrongful stereotypes for many Hispanics and other immigrants in America. This action still has backlash currently and has been a reason for several injustices, including the major mass shooting in El Paso geared mostly towards Hispanics. Like African Americans and other groups, many people are eager for justice, which is why the word has evolved and changed to a word completely dark and negative today.

The connotation of the word “justice” varies from person to person, and it varies in different cultures and races. For some, justice simply means rightfulness or lawfulness, but, for others, it carries a greater weight. People and groups who have continuously been treated unjustly or wrongly define justice in an elevated magnitude. For those groups, that is what they desire, but, for others, it is simply a word. Specific words have an increased meaning in different cultures, races, and groups of people, and the denotation of a specific word is powerful, and throughout history, the view of this word has altered.

The Evolution of the Word Justice

Kayla Gates

Works Cited

Baugh, Albert Croll, and Thomas Cable. A History of the English Language. Routledge, 2013.

Early History of Punishment and the Development of Prisons in the United States. SAGE Publications, 2020, www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/97948_Chapter_1_Early_History_of_Punishment_ and_the_Development_of_Prisons_in_the_United_States.pdf. “Google Ngram Viewer.” Google Books, Google, books.google.com/ngrams.

“Justice, n.” Justice, n. : Oxford English Dictionary, www.oed.com/view/Entry/102198. “War of 1812.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 21 Aug. 2018, www.history.com/topics/war-of1812#:~:text=In%20the%20War%20of%201812,in%20the%20world%2C%20Great%20Britain.