From Latin 'juris prudentia' (knowledge of the law) — literally 'law-wisdom' or 'legal foresight.'
The theory or philosophy of law; a system or body of law; the science of law and its interpretation.
From Latin iūrisprūdentia (knowledge of the law, legal science), a compound of iūris (genitive of iūs, law, right) + prūdentia (foresight, practical wisdom, skill), itself a contraction of prōvidentia (foreknowledge), from prō- (before) + vidēre (to see), from PIE *weyd- (to see, to know). The root *weyd- is among the most philosophically significant in Indo-European: it underlies Sanskrit veda (knowledge, the Vedas), Greek oîda (I know), Latin vidēre (to see), Old English witan (to know), and wisdom itself. Iūs (law) possibly connects to PIE
The '-prudence' in 'jurisprudence' is the same word as everyday 'prudence' — from Latin 'prūdentia,' a contraction of 'prōvidentia' (foresight, providence). So jurisprudence literally means 'law-foresight,' and the virtue of prudence is literally the ability to 'see ahead.' Divine providence and legal jurisprudence share the same root: the capacity to see
Words closest in meaning, ranked by similarity