Justing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Engaging in a medieval contest in which two mounted knights charge at each other with lances
2. Taking part in a chivalrous tournament where armored riders on horseback try to unhorse one another with lances
3. Competing on horseback with a lance in a formal combat sport, an archaic variant of jousting

Etymology: The verb "joust" most likely descends from Latin "iuxta", meaning "near" or "beside", reflecting the idea of two riders coming close together in combat. The noun and verb forms are older than the adjective "just" in its familiar sense, and the two words took separate paths into English. The adjective "just" is a different word with a different history. It came into Middle English from Old French "juste", which in turn came from Latin "iūstus", meaning "lawful, rightful, true, due, proper". That Latin word is related to "iūs", meaning "law" or "right", so the core sense of the adjective is fairness under law. The same Latin root produced "giusto" in Italian, making the two a doublet.

Synonyms: jousting, tilting