Juratus

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Existing in a formal capacity, often indicating one who has taken an oath or vow
2. denoting something that is sworn or pledged, particularly in a legal or official context
3. used in reference to individuals within certain exercises of authority or integrity, bound by promises made under oath

Etymology: "Juratus" is Latin, the past participle of "jurare," meaning "to swear an oath," and it describes someone who has been bound by an oath. The root "jus" (genitive "juris") is the source of the English "jury," which is why sworn panels and oath-taking share a single ancestry. Latin "juratus" passed into English as "jurat," a term that the OED records from the late Middle Ages, used for members of certain sworn bodies. The clearest survival is in the Channel Islands. In Jersey and Guernsey, a "jurat" is a member of the Royal Court, a judge-like figure who takes an oath of office, and the title has kept its original sense of "one who has sworn" for centuries. Elsewhere, the word is largely confined to legal and historical writing, where it names a sworn officer in certain French and English towns.