The term judge originated as a surname in English during the thirteenth century and later evolved into a noun in the fourteenth century, replacing the previous term, doomer. Initially spelled as iuge or iug, with a y-like pronunciation that eventually transformed into a hard j sound and the addition of the d in the mid-sixteenth century. The word is derived from the Old French juge, which had the same meaning and was borrowed from the Latin iudex (also the origin of judicial and prejudice). Iudex literally translates to “one who says the law”, as it consists of iux, meaning “law” or “right”, and dicere, a verb meaning “to say”. Furthermore, iux originates from the Proto-Indo-European root hyew, also meaning “right”, and dicere derives from Proto-Indo-European deykti, meaning “to point out”.
