jurist

/ˈʤʊrəst/

Other forms: jurists

A jurist is someone who is an expert in details of the legal system. Sometimes the word jurist is used to refer specifically to a lawyer or judge. If you love the law, you might want to be a jurist one day.

If you become a jurist, you'll be a scholar who has studied the details and theories of law. You might work as a newspaper's legal expert or a college professor. In the U.S., it's common to refer to a judge or another legal professional as a jurist. So you might describe the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as the top jurist in the country. Jurist comes from the Latin ius, "a right or a law."

Definitions of jurist

1. noun

   a legal scholar versed in civil law or the law of nations
   synonyms: legal expert

   examples:

   Jeremy Bentham

   English philosopher and jurist; founder of utilitarianism (1748-1831)

   Huig de Groot

   Dutch jurist and diplomat whose writings established the basis of modern international law (1583-1645)

   Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

   United States jurist noted for his liberal opinions (1841-1935)

   John Marshall

   United States jurist; as chief justice of the Supreme Court he established the principles of United States constitutional law (1755-1835)

   Harlan Fiske Stone

   United States jurist who served on the United States Supreme Court as chief justice (1872-1946)

   types:

   mufti

   a jurist who interprets Muslim religious law

   grand mufti

   the chief mufti of a district

   type of:

   expert, pundit

   a person with special knowledge or ability who performs skillfully
2. noun

   a public official authorized to decide questions brought before a court of justice
   synonyms: judge, justice

   examples:

   Samson

   (Old Testament) a judge of Israel who performed herculean feats of strength against the Philistines until he was betrayed to them by his mistress Delilah

   types:

   alcalde

   a mayor or chief magistrate of a Spanish town

   chief justice

   the judge who presides over a supreme court

   Daniel

   a wise and upright judge

   doge

   formerly the chief magistrate in the republics of Venice and Genoa

   justiciar, justiciary

   formerly a high judicial officer

   magistrate

   a lay judge or civil authority who administers the law (especially one who conducts a court dealing with minor offenses)

   ordinary

   a judge of a probate court

   praetor, pretor

   an annually elected magistrate of the ancient Roman Republic

   qadi

   an Islamic judge

   recorder

   a barrister or solicitor who serves as part-time judge in towns or boroughs

   trial judge

   a judge in a trial court

   trier

   one (as a judge) who examines and settles a case

   justice of the peace

   a local magistrate with limited powers

   stipendiary, stipendiary magistrate

   (United Kingdom) a paid magistrate (appointed by the Home Secretary) dealing with police cases

   type of:

   adjudicator

   a person who studies and settles conflicts and disputes

   functionary, official

   a worker who holds or is invested with an office