Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of, relating to, or proper to courts of law or to the administration of justice.
  • adjective Decreed by or proceeding from a court of justice.
  • adjective Belonging or appropriate to the office of a judge.
  • adjective Characterized by or expressing judgment.
  • adjective Proceeding from a divine judgment.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of or pertaining to a judge; proper to the character of a judge; judge-like; hence, critical; discriminating; impartial; formerly, judicious.
  • Pertaining to the administration of justice; proper to a court of law; consisting of or resulting from legal inquiry or judgment: as, judicial power or proceedings; a judicial decision, writ, sale, or punishment.
  • Enacted by statute, or established by constituted authority.
  • Determinative; giving judgment; deciding, as about a point in contest or about future events: as, judicial astrology.
  • Having the nature of a judgment or punishment.
  • An act of any public officer involving the exercise of his Judgment or discretion on a question affecting the right of any party. Thus, the act of the fiscal officer of a municipality in auditing a claim is usually judicial, but his paying a lawful warrant or order for payment is ministerial. (See ministerial.) A judicial act implies deliberation, and therefore, if to be done by several jointly, those who are to do it must be together (or under modern statutes a majority after notice to all); while a ministerial act may ordinarily, unless otherwise required by law, be the concurrent act of each separately.
  • The power conferred upon and exercised by the judiciary or a court as such.
  • A power conferred upon a public officer involving the exercise of judgment and discretion in the determination of questions of right in specific cases affecting the interests of persons or property, as distinguished from ministerial power, or authority to carry out the mandates of judicial power or of the law.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Pertaining or appropriate to courts of justice, or to a judge; practiced or conformed to in the administration of justice; sanctioned or ordered by a court
  • adjective Fitted or apt for judging or deciding.
  • adjective Belonging to the judiciary, as distinguished from legislative, administrative, or executive. See Executive.
  • adjective obsolete Judicious.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of or relating to a court of law, or to the administration of justice.
  • noun That branch of government which is responsible for maintaining the courts of law and for the administration of justice.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective expressing careful judgment
  • adjective decreed by or proceeding from a court of justice
  • adjective relating to the administration of justice or the function of a judge
  • adjective belonging or appropriate to the office of a judge

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Latin iūdiciālis, from iūdicium, judgment, from iūdex, iūdic-, judge; see deik- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin iūdiciālis.

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