What does jus mean?
Jus is an uncommon word with two quite different established uses. In legal and historical contexts, it means a right, power, or authority, or law itself; it appears in such Latin legal expressions as jus cogens, jus gentium, and jus soli. In culinary English, particularly in Britain, it means juice or the liquid in which food has been cooked, as in “serve the meat in its jus.” The legal sense continues the Latin word ius, meaning “right” or “law,” and helps explain related English words such as justice, jurist, and jury. The culinary sense comes through modern French. Although the culinary meaning is more approachable, “jus” remains a specialized term outside restaurant writing and recipes. The word is therefore useful as a reminder that vocabulary can preserve distinct legal and everyday histories within a single short form.
A right, power, or authority; also law itself.
"The statute limited the jus of the landowner to those portions of the estate explicitly granted."
Chiefly a formal legal or historical term, and much more common within recognized Latin legal expressions than as an independent word.
Juice, especially the liquid produced during cooking or used as a serving medium.
"He spooned the fragrant jus over the roast chicken."
A culinary borrowing from French, most familiar in British English and restaurant terminology.
The plural is rare and is chiefly associated with the legal sense.
"The treatise discussed the juces recognized under customary law."
From Latin for both “law” and “right,” jus eventually gave English a legal vocabulary built on the idea of what people are justly entitled to do.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of jus
The legal senses of jus come directly from Latin ius, meaning “right,” “law,” or “power,” which belonged to an Indo-European family of words associated with binding, joining, and prescribed obligations. The culinary sense was borrowed from French jus, meaning “juice” or “broth.” English relatives from the legal root include justice, jurist, and jury, while injury also preserves the older Indo-European ancestry of the Latin legal vocabulary.
How jus is actually used
The legal sense is formal and occurs chiefly in technical or historical writing. The culinary sense is a direct borrowing from French and is most familiar in British usage and restaurant terminology.
Easily confused with jus
Jus is a noun meaning a legal right or authority, whereas jure is an adverb meaning “by law” or “by right,” as in a jure succession.
Juice is the ordinary English word for a liquid extracted from fruit or food, while jus is chiefly either a specialized legal term or a culinary borrowing used in expressions such as “in jus.”