Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Jurist \Ju`rist\, n. [F. juriste, LL. jurista, fr. L. jus,
   juris, right, law. See {Just}, a.]
   One who professes the science of law; one versed in the law,
   especially in the civil law; a writer on civil and
   international law.

         It has ever been the method of public jurists to ?raw a
         great part of the analogies on which they form the law
         of nations from the principles of law which prevail in
         civil community.                         -- Burke.

Source : WordNet®

jurist
     n 1: a legal scholar versed in civil law or the law of nations
          [syn: {legal expert}]
     2: a public official authorized to decide questions bought
        before a court of justice [syn: {judge}, {justice}, {magistrate}]