JUDGE

JUDGE

Etymology 1

From Middle English juge, jugge, borrowed from Old French juge, from Latin iūdex. Displaced native Old English dēma.

Noun

judge (plural judges)

1. A public official whose duty it is to administer the law, especially by presiding over trials and rendering judgments; a justice. quotations ▼
2. A person who decides the fate of someone or something that has been called into question.
3. A person officiating at a sports event, a contest, or similar.

At a boxing match, the decision of the judges is final.

4. A person who evaluates something or forms an opinion.

She is a good judge of wine.

They say he is a poor judge of character considering all the unreliable friends he has made.

5. (historical, biblical) A shophet, a temporary leader appointed in times of crisis in ancient Israel.

Synonyms

• (one who judges in an official capacity): magistrate (now usually of low rank); justice (now usually of high rank); justiciar, justiciary (historic, of high rank); chief justice, Chief Justiciar, Capital Justiciary, Chief Justiciary, justiciar, justiciary (of the highest rank); justicer (obsolete); sheriff, bailiff, reeve (historic or obsolete); doomsman (obsolete)
• (one who judges generally): deemer, deemster

Derived terms

• activist judge
• from the East German judge
• goal judge
• grave as a judge
• judge advocate
• judgecraft
• judgeful
• judgelike
• judgely
• judge-made
• judge-made law
• judge of fact
• judge-rapporteur
• judgeship
• judgy
• lay judge
• line judge
• purple judge
• red judge
• sober as a judge
• sub-judge
• tell it to the judge
• touch judge