jurisprudence

noun

ju·​ris·​pru·​dence ˌju̇r-əs-ˈprü-dᵊn(t)s 

1

: the science or philosophy of law

they have no theories of jurisprudence but … decide each case on its facts

—R. H. Bork

2

a

: a system or body of law

Roman jurisprudence

labor jurisprudence

b

: the course of court decisions as distinguished from legislation and doctrine

a tendency that has become apparent in the jurisprudence of the American courts

—Bernard Schwartz

3

: a department of law

medical jurisprudence

jurisprudential

ˌju̇r-əs-prü-ˈden(t)-shəl 

adjective

jurisprudentially

ˌju̇r-əs-prü-ˈden(t)-sh(ə-)lē 

adverb

Did you know?

"For a farewell to our jurisprudent, I wish unto him the gladsome light of jurisprudence…." With this farewell to English jurist Sir Thomas Littleton, another jurist named Sir Edward Coke welcomed two new words into English. In 1628, his jurisprudence meant "knowledge of or skill in law," a now-archaic sense that reflects the meaning of the word's root. Jurisprudence goes back to the Latin phrase prudentia juris (literally "skill in law"), from which came the Late Latin formation jurisprudentia, and subsequently the English word. The noun jurisprudent means "one skilled in law"—in other words, a jurist or a judge. There's also jurisprude, a somewhat rare 20th-century back-formation created from jurisprudence with influence from prude. It means "one who makes a showy display of jurisprudential learning."

Examples of jurisprudence in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Immigration law, broadly speaking, is a complex and often contentious area of American jurisprudence. —Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 3 Aug. 2025

Michael Gerhardt, the Burton Craige distinguished professor of jurisprudence at the University of North Carolina, told Newsweek. —Jenna Sundel, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 July 2025

Alongside its January decision on TikTok, the ruling marks a new era in the court’s online First Amendment jurisprudence: the justices are increasingly willing to uphold government suppression of free speech for policy reasons. —Noah Feldman, Mercury News, 5 July 2025

This is what jurisprudence looks like when a conservative constitutional revolution is underway. —Noah Feldman, Mercury News, 5 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

see jurisprudent

First Known Use

1654, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for jurisprudence

• imprudence
• impudence
• prudence

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

jurisprudence

noun

ju·​ris·​pru·​dence ˌju̇r-ə-ˈsprüd-ᵊn(t)s 

1

: a system of laws

2

: the science of law

3

: a department of law

medical jurisprudence

Legal Definition

jurisprudence

noun

ju·​ris·​pru·​dence ˌju̇r-əs-ˈprüd-ᵊns 

1

a

: a system or body of law

in the federal jurisprudence

especially : a body of law dealing with a specific issue or area

labor jurisprudence

b

: the course of court decisions as distinguished from legislation and doctrine

the jurisprudence decided under the source provisions

—Louisiana Civil Code

2

: the science or philosophy of law

they have no theories of jurisprudence but…decide each case on its facts

—R. H. Bork

jurisprudential

ˌju̇r-əs-prü-ˈden-chəl 

adjective

Etymology

Late Latin jurisprudentia knowledge of or skill in law, from Latin juris, genitive of jus right, law + prudentia wisdom, proficiency