judge

Etymology 1

From Middle English juge, jugge, borrowed from Old French juge, from Latin iūdex. Displaced native Old English dēma.

noun

1. A public official whose duty it is to administer the law, especially by presiding over trials and rendering judgments; a justice.
2. A person who decides the fate of someone or something that has been called into question.
3. A person officiating at a sports event, a contest, or similar.
   At a boxing match, the decision of the judges is final.
4. A person who evaluates something or forms an opinion.
   She is a good judge of wine.
   They say he is a poor judge of character considering all the unreliable friends he has made.
5. (historical, biblical) A shophet, a temporary leader appointed in times of crisis in ancient Israel.

Etymology 2

From Middle English jugen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman juger, from Old French jugier, from Latin iūdicāre. Mostly displaced native deem.

verb

1. (transitive) To sit in judgment on; to pass sentence on (a person or matter).
   A higher power will judge you after you are dead.
2. (intransitive) To sit in judgment, to act as judge.
   Justices in this country judge without appeal.
3. (transitive) To judicially rule or determine.
4. (transitive, obsolete) To sentence to punishment, to judicially condemn.
   He was judged to die for his crimes.
5. (transitive, obsolete) To award judicially; to adjudge.
6. (transitive) To form an opinion on; to appraise.
   I judge a man’s character by the cut of his suit.
   Let us be judged for what we attempted rather than what we achieved. c. 1921, Michael Collins, after the Anglo-Irish Treaty
7. (transitive, obsolete) To constitute a fitting appraisal or criterion of; to provide a basis for forming an opinion on.
8. (intransitive) To arbitrate; to pass opinion on something, especially to settle a dispute etc.
   We cannot both be right: you must judge between us.
9. (transitive) To have as an opinion; to consider, suppose.
   I judge it safe to leave the house once again.
10. (transitive, intransitive) To form an opinion; to infer.
    I judge from the sky that it might rain later.
11. (transitive, intransitive) To criticize or label another person or thing.
    There's something wrong with the world today; the light bulb's getting dim. There's meltdown in the sky. If you can judge a wise man by the color of his skin, Mister, you're a better man than I 1993, Aerosmith, Livin' on the Edge
12. (transitive, intransitive) To govern as biblical judge or shophet (over some jurisdiction).