jurist

IPA/ˈdʒʊərɪst/
KK[dʒˈʊrəst]IPA/ˈdʒʊrɪst/

jurist — noun

  • juristsingular
  • juristsplural

1. a person who has studied law deeply and understands legal principles thoroughly,

1.nounB2
Definition

a person who has studied law deeply and understands legal principles thoroughly, such as a judge, a law professor, or a senior lawyer whose opinions on legal matters carry authority

Example

Hassan, a respected jurist, spent thirty years on the Supreme Court bench.

countable noun: a respected jurist

The university invited a leading European jurist to speak about international human rights law.

Common collocations
  • respected jurist
  • leading jurist
  • constitutional jurist
  • panel of jurists
  • consult a jurist
Synonyms
  • judge

    a judge presides over a court; every judge is a jurist, but not every jurist is a judge

  • legal scholar

    more academic in tone; focuses on research and writing about the law

  • justice

    a specific title for a judge on a higher court, especially a supreme court

Common Mistakes

My uncle is a jurist on the jury.
My uncle is a juror on the jury.
'jurist' means a legal expert; 'juror' means a member of a jury who decides a verdict in court.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A jurist is anyone with deep expertise in legal systems — this includes judges, law professors, and senior lawyers whose opinions are sought on complex legal questions. A 'judge' is a specific type of jurist who presides over a court, but you can be a jurist without ever stepping onto a bench (for example, a law professor who advises governments on constitutional reform). A 'legal scholar' overlaps closely with jurist but leans toward academic research rather than practical legal work. An 'attorney' (or lawyer) represents clients in legal matters; many attorneys are not considered jurists unless they have established unusual depth of expertise. To illustrate: Judge Elena Garcia is both a jurist and a judge; Professor Chitra Patel is a jurist and a legal scholar but not a judge; a local divorce attorney is a lawyer but rarely called a jurist.

judge ↗legal scholarattorney ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'jurist' entered English in the 15th century from French 'juriste', which came from Latin 'iurista' — rooted in 'ius' (genitive 'iuris'), meaning 'right' or 'law'. The Latin root also gives us 'justice', 'justify', and 'jurisdiction'.