injury

The word "injury" originates from the Latin injuria, meaning "injustice" or "wrong", itself formed from the prefix in- ("not") and jus ("law, right"). This literal sense of "something not right" or "an injustice" was the primary meaning when the word entered English via Anglo-French in the 14th century. Over time, the meaning narrowed and specialized from a general legal concept of a wrong to focus more specifically on the physical harm or damage resulting from such a wrong. Thus, the modern meaning of bodily harm logically evolved from the ancient idea of a violation of what is legally or morally right.