mid-15c., "one who practices law," from Middle French juriste (14c.), from Medieval Latin iurista "jurist," from Latin ius (genitive iuris) "law," from PIE *yewes- "law," originally a term of religious cult, perhaps meaning "sacred formula" (compare Latin iurare "to pronounce a ritual formula," Vedic yos "health," Avestan yaoz-da- "make ritually pure," Irish huisse "just").The Germanic root represented by Old English æ "custom, law," Old High German ewa, German Ehe "marriage," though sometimes associated with this group, seems rather to belong to PIE *ei- "to go." Meaning "a legal writer" is from 1620s.