Jury

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈdʒʊəɹi/

Origin

From Anglo-Norman juree, from Medieval Latin iūrāta, from Latin iūrō ("swear or take an oath").

Full definition of jury

Noun

1. (legal) A group of individuals chosen from the general population to hear and decide a case in a court of law.
• "And so the jury and he approached, as if this were a time of peace instead of one of the greatest world disturbances ever known in history, the question whether the prosecution had proved to the jury’s satisfaction that George Joseph Smith was guilty of murder. The jury were the shield which stood between him and death, unless, to the jury’s satisfaction, he was proved to be guilty. Yet while they were the shield of the man accused, they were also the Sword of the State; and if the man were proved guilty, they were the servants of the State to punish him. Their respective functions were these: he the judge, had to settle the law, and the jury must take the law from him. The jury were judges of fact."1952: James Avery Joyce: Justice At Work: (this edition Pan 1957) Page 92. commenting on R v Smith 1915 84 LJKB 2153 (1914-15 All ER 262 CCA)
2. A group of judges in a competition.

Meronyms

• juror

Derived terms

• grand jury
• jury box
• jury duty
• jury rig
• jury panel
• jury nullification
• jury pool
• jury trial
• petit jury
• the jury is still out

Descendants

• Portuguese: júri

Verb

1. To judge by means of a jury.

Adjective

1. (nautical) For temporary use; applied to a temporary contrivance.jury mast; jury rudder----