Judgment

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈd͡ʒʌd͡ʒ.mənt/

Definitions

1. The ability to make considered decisions or come to sensible conclusions, or an opinion or decision reached after consideration
2. The act of forming a conclusion or opinion about something based on careful analysis of information and experiences, along with the ability to assess situations rationally
3. The capacity to assess situations and come to a sensible conclusion ; the authoritative decision given by a court or judge

Etymology: The noun "judgment" is a useful example of a word whose spelling has drifted away from its ancestry. Its Latin source, "iudicamentum," was built from "iudicare," meaning "to judge," which itself came from "iudex," a judge, and in turn from "ius," law, plus "dicere," to say. So at its deepest level, a judge is one who says what is right. The word reached English in Middle English as "juggement," borrowed from Old French "jugement." Over time it gained a stray "d" in the spelling, though the pronunciation has stayed close to the original. English also has a second, slightly older-sounding ending to consider: "-ment" attached to a verb is a common way of forming nouns of result or action, which is why "judgment" looks so transparently like "judge" plus a suffix. Historically, the word also partly replaced the Old English "doom," which once meant a judicial decision, a sentence, or simply a fate. Today "doom" survives mainly in its gloomier sense, while "judgment" took over the legal meaning of a formal ruling and the broader sense of sound discernment.

Synonyms: decision, verdict, ruling

Antonyms: confusion, ignorance, indecision