What does forejudge mean?
Forejudge is a verb meaning to judge or decide a matter before all the relevant evidence has been heard — in effect, to prejudge. It can also refer, in an older legal context, to the act of depriving someone of a right, estate, or property through judicial sentence. The word is formed from the prefix 'fore-', meaning 'before', joined to 'judge', making its logic transparent: a judgment rendered too early. Today forejudge is uncommon, having been largely superseded by the near-identical term prejudge, and it survives mainly in formal prose, historical legal writing, and dictionaries. Its connotations are almost always negative, implying unfairness, haste, or a closed mind. For readers of classic legal texts or earlier English literature, however, recognising forejudge is valuable, since misunderstanding it can obscure arguments about bias, due process, or the loss of legal rights.
verbTo judge, condemn, or determine the outcome of a matter prematurely and before hearing all the evidence; in an older legal sense, to deprive or oust someone of a right or property by judicial sentence.
- To form a judgment or conclusion about something before all the facts are known; to prejudge.
- (Law, historical) To deprive a person of a right, estate, or property by judicial sentence; to oust or condemn.
"The judge was careful not to forejudge the appeal before both sides had been fully heard."
"Commentators were accused of forejudging the trial before a single witness had testified."
"Under the old writ, a tenant could be forejudged of his lands upon conviction."
Before 'prejudice' took over the job, English had 'forejudge' — a word so old it could legally evict you from your own land.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does forejudge come from?
Forejudge derives from the prefix 'fore-' (Old English, meaning 'before') combined with 'judge', from Old French 'jugier', ultimately from Latin 'iudicare' ('to judge'), itself formed from 'ius' (law) and 'dicere' (to say). It entered English in the late medieval period, with the legal sense of ousting a person from property by judgment appearing in early English law. It is thus a cognate of prejudice, adjudicate, and other words rooted in Latin 'iudicare'.
Related word forms
How forejudge is actually used
The verb is rare in modern usage and has largely been displaced by the more common prejudge. The legal (dispossessing) sense is chiefly historical, found in older legal texts. When encountered today, forejudge almost always appears in formal writing or historical quotation.
Easily confused with forejudge
Prejudge means simply forming a judgment before the evidence is complete, while forejudge carries the same meaning but is a rarer, older term — and historically also denoted the legal act of ousting someone from a right or estate.
Forjudge is an obsolete variant spelling of forejudge used specifically for the legal sense of expelling or depriving someone of property by judgment, not for prejudging an issue.