Justification
/ˌdʒʌstɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/noun
The act of showing something to be right, reasonable, or legally valid.
Did you know?Justification ultimately comes from Latin *justificare*, a legal-moral verb meaning “to make right,” built from *jus* (“law, right”) plus *facere* (“to make”) — so the word literally carries the energy of turning judgment into order.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*yeu-
“to bind, to join; also associated with law and right order”
Latin
Latin
ius
“law, right, justice”
Classical Latin
Latin
iustificare
“to make just, to declare righteous”
Old French
Old French
justification
“act of proving right or righteous”
Middle English
English
justificacion
“a making right or proving right”
Modern English
English
justification
“the act or process of showing something to be right or valid”