just
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Etymology 1
From Middle English juste, from Old French juste, from Latin iūstus (“just, lawful, rightful, true, due, proper, moderate”), from Proto-Italic *jowestos, related to Latin iūs (“law, right”); ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew-. Compare Scots juist (“just”), Saterland Frisian juust (“just”), West Frisian just (“just”), Dutch juist (“just”), German Low German jüst (“jüst”), German just (“just”), Danish just (“just”), Swedish just (“just”). Doublet of giusto.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /d͡ʒʌst/
Audio (General American): (file) - (adverb, unstressed) IPA(key): /d͡ʒəs(t)/
- (dialectal) IPA(key): /d͡ʒɛst/, /d͡ʒɪst/, /d͡ʒʊst/ (see jest, jist)
- Rhymes: -ʌst
Adjective
just (comparative juster or more just, superlative justest or most just)
- Factually right, correct; factual.
- It is a just assessment of the facts.
- Rationally right, correct.
- Morally right; upright, righteous, equitable; fair.
- It looks like a just solution at first glance.
- 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
- My lord, we know your grace to be a man
Just and upright.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Colossians 4:1:
- Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.
- 1744, Alexander Shiels [i.e., Alexander Shields], “Period VI. Containing the Testimony through the Continued Tract of the Present Deformation, from the Year 1660 to this Day.”, in A Hind Let Loose: Or, An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland, for the Interest of Christ; with the True State thereof in All Its Periods: [...], Edinburgh: Reprinted by R. Drummond and Company, and sold by William Gray bookbinder in the Grassmarket, and several others, &c., →OCLC, pages 167–168:
- Here is a Proclamation for a Prince: that proclaims him in whoſe name it is emitted [James II of England], to be the greateſt Tyrant that ever lived in the world, and their Revolt who have diſowned him to be the juſteſt that ever was.
- 1900 December – 1901 August, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “chapter 23”, in The First Men in the Moon, London: George Newnes, […], published 1901, →OCLC:
- Looking back over my previously written account of these things, I must insist that I have been altogether juster to Cavor than he has been to me.
- Proper, adequate.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
factually fair, correct
|
morally fair, righteous
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
|
Adverb
just (not comparable)
- Only, simply, merely.
- Just plant a few tomatoes, unless you can freeze or dry them.
- He calls it vermilion, but it's just red to me.
- 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
- Philander went into the next room, which was just a lean-to hitched on to the end of the shanty, and came back with a salt mackerel that dripped brine like a rainstorm. Then he put the coffee pot on the stove and rummaged out a loaf of dry bread and some hardtack.
- 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:
- From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. […] But viewed from high up in one of the growing number of skyscrapers in Sri Lanka’s capital, it is clear that something extraordinary is happening: China is creating a shipping hub just 200 miles from India’s southern tip.
- 2013 June 14, Sam Leith, “Where the profound meets the profane”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 37:
- Swearing doesn't just mean what we now understand by "dirty words". It is entwined, in social and linguistic history, with the other sort of swearing: vows and oaths.
- Introduces a disappointing or surprising outcome that renders futile something previously mentioned.
- I spent two hours cooking my favorite recipe, just to burn the rice and ruin the meal.
- I helped him out just for him to betray me.
- (sentence adverb) Used to reduce the force of an imperative; simply.
- Just follow the directions on the box.
- Used to convey a less serious or formal tone
- I just called to say "hi".
- Used to show humility.
- Lord, we just want to thank You and praise Your Name.
- (degree) absolutely, positively
- It is just splendid!
- just fine
- Moments ago, recently.
- They just left, but you may leave a message at the desk.
- 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
- Philander went into the next room […] and came back with a salt mackerel […] . Next he put the mackerel in a fry-pan, and the shanty began to smell like a Banks boat just in from a v'yage.
- By a narrow margin; closely; nearly.
- The fastball just missed my head!
- The piece just might fit.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
- Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall. Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime.
- Exactly, precisely, perfectly.
- He wants everything just right for the big day.
- 1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Fourteenth Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC:
- And having just enough, not covet more.
- c. 1580 (date written), Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “[The Second Booke] Chapter 19”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLC, folio 122, recto:
- The god Pan […] guided my hand so just to the heart of the beast.
- c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vi]:
- To-night, at Herne's oak, just 'twixt twelve and one.
- 2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:
- Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.
Synonyms
- (only): merely, simply; see also Thesaurus:merely
- (recently): freshly, lately, newly
- (by a narrow margin): barely, hardly, scarcely; see also Thesaurus:slightly
- (exactly): on the dot, smack-dab; see also Thesaurus:exactly
Derived terms
- age is just a number
- denial ain't just a river in Egypt
- denial is not just a river in Egypt
- denial isn't just a river in Egypt
- die just how one lived
- die just like one lived
- die just the way one lived
- I just work here
- is it just me
- is that a gun in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me
- it is always darkest just before the dawn
- it is darkest just before the dawn
- it is not just you
- just about
- just a minute
- just another pretty face
- just a sec
- just a second
- just as soon as
- just assume
- just as well
- just because
- just ducky
- just enough
- just folks
- just friends
- just gone
- just in
- just in case
- just-in-time
- just in time
- just kidding
- just like that
- just my luck
- just now
- just on
- just one of those things
- just plain folks
- just saying
- just say no
- just shoot me
- just so
- just-so story
- just then
- just the same
- just the ticket
- just what the doctor ordered
- just wondering
- just yet
- just you wait
- my very easy method just speeds up naming planets
- my very educated mother just served us nachos
- my very educated mother just served us nine pizzas
- my very educated mother just served us nine pumpkins
- my very educated mother just served us noodles
- my very excellent mother just served us nine pizzas
- not just another pretty face
- not just a pretty face
- only just
- over-just
- shit just got real
- so crazy it just might work
- so crazy it might just work
- sometimes a cigar is just a cigar
- that's just me
- the darkest hour is always just before the dawn
- the darkest hour is just before the dawn
- this just in
- you just had to
Translations
only, simply, merely
|
used to reduce the force of an imperative
|
used to convey a less serious or formal tone
absolutely, positively
|
recently
|
by a narrow margin, nearly
|
exactly, precisely, perfectly
|
Interjection
just
- (slang) Expressing dismay or discontent.
Etymology 2
Variation of joust, presumably ultimately from Latin iuxta (“near, besides”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /d͡ʒʌst/
Audio (General American): (file) - Rhymes: -ʌst
Noun
just (plural justs)
- A joust, tournament.
Verb
just (third-person singular simple present justs, present participle justing, simple past and past participle justed)
- To joust, fight a tournament.
- 1600, [Torquato Tasso], “The Third Booke of Godfrey of Bulloigne”, in Edward Fairefax [i.e., Edward Fairfax], transl., Godfrey of Bulloigne, or The Recouerie of Ierusalem. […], London: […] Ar[nold] Hatfield, for I[saac] Iaggard and M[atthew] Lownes, →OCLC, page 39:
- He iusts with her vnknowne whom he lou’d best, [...].
Translations
to fight a tournament — see joust
References
- Stanley, Oma (1937) “I. Vowel Sounds in Stressed Syllables”, in The Speech of East Texas (American Speech: Reprints and Monographs; 2), New York: Columbia University Press, , →ISBN, § 12, page 27.
- “just”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “just”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Anagrams
Etymology
Inherited from Old Catalan just, from Latin iūstus.
Pronunciation
Adjective
just (feminine justa, masculine plural justs or justos, feminine plural justes)
Derived terms
Related terms
Adverb
just
Further reading
- “just” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “just”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
- “just” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “just” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Etymology
From Middle Low German just or Swedish just. Possibly from German just. See also justament.
Adverb
just (not comparable)
Etymology
Pronunciation
Adverb
just (colloquial)
Interjection
just (colloquial)
Synonyms
both:
adverb:
Further reading
- “just”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02
Etymology
Adjective
just
Derived terms
- justeapont
- justeben
Related terms
Etymology
Derived from Latin iūste, iūstus, perhaps via Middle Dutch juust.
Pronunciation
Adverb
just
- (higher register) just
- 1808, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust: Der Tragödie erster Teil [Faust, Part One]:
- Sie ging just vorbey.
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Further reading
- “just” in Duden online
- “just” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- Friedrich Kluge (1989) “just”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the German Language] (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 344
Etymology
Ultimately from a Germanic language (compare Middle Low German just and Swedish just). Related to Estonian just and Finnish just.
Pronunciation
Adverb
just
- exactly
- just niin ― just so
References
- Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 111
Pronunciation
Verb
just (transitive, 1st conjugation, present jūtu, jūti, jūt, past jutu)
- to feel (to perceive with one's sense organs)
- just aukstumu, karstumu, sāpes ― to feel cold, heat, pain
- tā, ka nejūt zemi zem kājām ― such that s/he doesn't feel the earth under his/her feet (= very fast)
- to sense
- to palp
- to have a sensation
Conjugation
| INDICATIVE (īstenības izteiksme) | IMPERATIVE (pavēles izteiksme) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present (tagadne) |
Past (pagātne) |
Future (nākotne) | |||
| 1st pers. sg. | es | jūtu | jutu | jutīšu | — |
| 2nd pers. sg. | tu | jūti | juti | jutīsi | jūti |
| 3rd pers. sg. | viņš, viņa | jūt | juta | jutīs | lai jūt |
| 1st pers. pl. | mēs | jūtam | jutām | jutīsim | jutīsim |
| 2nd pers. pl. | jūs | jūtat | jutāt | jutīsiet, jutīsit |
jūtiet |
| 3rd pers. pl. | viņi, viņas | jūt | juta | jutīs | lai jūt |
| RENARRATIVE (atstāstījuma izteiksme) | PARTICIPLES (divdabji) | ||||
| Present | jūtot | Present Active 1 (Adj.) | jūtošs | ||
| Past | esot jutis | Present Active 2 (Adv.) | juzdams | ||
| Future | jutīšot | Present Active 3 (Adv.) | jūtot | ||
| Imperative | lai jūtot | Present Active 4 (Obj.) | jūtam | ||
| CONDITIONAL (vēlējuma izteiksme) | Past Active | jutis | |||
| Present | justu | Present Passive | jūtams | ||
| Past | būtu jutis | Past Passive | justs | ||
| DEBITIVE (vajadzības izteiksme) | NOMINAL FORMS | ||||
| Indicative | (būt) jājūt | Infinitive (nenoteiksme) | just | ||
| Conjunctive 1 | esot jājūt | Negative Infinitive | nejust | ||
| Conjunctive 2 | jājūtot | Verbal noun | jušana | ||
conjugation of just
Derived terms
- prefixed verbs:
- izjust
- pajust
- sajust
- other derived terms:
- justies
Verb
just
- third-person singular past historic of gesir
Pronunciation
Adjective
just m pl
Etymology
Pronunciation
Adjective
just m or n (feminine singular justă, masculine plural juști, feminine and neuter plural juste)
Declension
Pronunciation
Adverb
just (not comparable)
- just (quite recently, only moments ago)
- Jag kom just hem
- I just got home
- exactly, precisely
- just nu
- right now
- Just det!
- That's right! (idiomatic)
- Det var just vad jag ville ha!
- That's just what I wanted!
- Det är just det som är problemet
- That's precisely the problem
- (focus) particularly, in particular, specifically (compare similar usage in English "That's just the guy I saw" and the like)
- Just på det här området finns det gott om utrymme för förbättringar
- In this particular area, there is plenty of room for improvement
- skräddarsydda lösningar för just dina behov
- tailor-made solutions for your specific needs
- Just idag är jag stark
- Today in particular I am strong / This particular day I am strong (or just "Today I am strong," putting emphasis on today) – song lyrics
Usage notes
Can be understood as English just except lacking the only sense. "Det är just lite regn" (It's precisely a little rain – likely nonsensical) can be understood as "It's just a little rain" if read as "It's just (precisely) a little rain," which is the natural reading in Swedish without the only sense.
Descendants
- → Finnish: just
See also
References
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