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Today it means

adjudicate

to make a formal judgment or decision on a disputed matter

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Where does the word "adjudicate" come from? It comes from Latin ad iudicare, and was adopted directly into English (1700s).

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Where does the word "adjudicate" come from? It comes from Latin ad iudicare, and was adopted directly into English (1700s).

Adjudicate’s story begins in Latin: ad iudicare meant “to award judicially.” To award judicially, from ad- (to) and iudicare (to judge). It reached English by 1700s as adjudicate. First recorded in 1655 in Thomas Fuller's writing, taken straight from Latin 'adjudicare'. Today, adjudicate means to make a formal judgment or decision on a disputed matter.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient ad iudicare "to award judicially", to award judicially, from ad- (to) and iudicare (to judge).
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1700s adjudicate "to make a formal judgment on a disputed matter", first recorded in 1655 in Thomas Fuller's writing, taken straight from Latin 'adjudicare'.

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