law

noun

/lɔː/UK/laː//lɔ/US

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *lagą Old Norse lag Old Norse lǫgbor. Old English lagu Middle English lawe English law From Middle English lawe, laȝe, from Old English lagu (“law”), borrowed from Old Norse lǫg (“law”, literally “things laid down or firmly established”), originally the plural of lag (“layer, stratum, a laying in order, measure, stroke”), from Proto-Germanic *lagą (“that which is laid down”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie”). Cognate with Scots law (“law”), Icelandic lög (“things laid down, law”), Faroese lóg (“law”), Norwegian lov (“law”), Swedish lag (“law”), Danish lov (“law”), Finnish laki (“law”). Compare typologically distant cognate Russian уложе́ние (uložénije). Displaced native Old English ǣ and ġesetnes. More at lay. Not related to legal, nor to French loi, Spanish ley, all of which ultimately derive from Latin lēx, from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to gather”).

derived from *legʰ-✻ — “to lie”
derived from *lagą✻ — “that which is laid down”
derived from lǫg — “law”
inherited from lagu — “law”
inherited from lawe

Definitions

1
The body of binding rules and regulations, customs, and standards established in a…
The body of binding rules and regulations, customs, and standards established in a community by its legislative and judicial authorities.
- The courts interpret the law but should not make it.
2
A binding regulation or custom established in a community in this way.
- There is a law against importing wallabies.
- A new law forbids driving on that road.
- The court ruled that the executive order was not law and nullified it.
3
A rule, such as
A rule, such as:
- "Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you" is a good law to follow.
- the law of self-preservation
›+ 28 more definitionsshow fewer
1. 4
  The control and order brought about by the observance of such rules.
  - They worked to maintain law and order.
  - It was a territory without law, marked by violence.
2. 5
  A person or group that act(s) with authority to uphold such rules and order (for example,…
  A person or group that act(s) with authority to uphold such rules and order (for example, one or more police officers).
  - Here comes the law — run!
  - then the law arrived on the scene
  - That was Joe's first confrontation with "The Law" / Naturally, we were easy on him / One of our friendly counsellors gave him a donut / And told him to stick closer / To church-oriented social activities
3. 6
  The profession that deals with such rules (as lawyers, judges, police officers, etc).
  - He is studying for a career in law.
  - She has practiced law in New York for twenty years.
4. 7
  Jurisprudence, the field of knowledge which encompasses these rules.
  - She went to university to study law.
5. 8
  Litigation
  Litigation; legal action (as a means of maintaining or restoring order, redressing wrongs, etc).
  - They were quick to go to law.
6. An allowance of distance or time (a head start) given to a weaker (human or animal)…
  An allowance of distance or time (a head start) given to a weaker (human or animal) competitor in a race, to make the race more fair.
7. 10
  A mode of operation of the flight controls of a fly-by-wire aircraft.
  - normal law; alternate law; direct law
8. One of two metaphysical forces ruling the world in some fantasy settings, also called…
  One of two metaphysical forces ruling the world in some fantasy settings, also called order, and opposed to chaos.
9. 12
  An oath sworn before a court, especially disclaiming a debt. (Chiefly in the phrases…
  An oath sworn before a court, especially disclaiming a debt. (Chiefly in the phrases "wager of law", "wage one's law", "perform one's law", "lose one's law".)
  - As to the depriving the defendant of waging his law, it was thought, the practice merited discouragement, as a temptation to perjury.
  - A withdrawal from a wager of law was an admission of the point as to which the law was waged; the defaulter also incurred a fine (i, 297).
10. 13
  To work as a lawyer
  To work as a lawyer; to practice law.
  - That was in 1877 you were lawing with Herdick?
  - J. H. Turner is married and lawing in Milwaukee.
11. 14
  To prosecute or sue (someone), to litigate.
  - Your husband's … so given to lawing, they say. I doubt he'll leave you poorly off when he dies.
12. 15
  To rule over (with a certain effect) by law
  To rule over (with a certain effect) by law; to govern.
  - Nicholas Downton (February 1615) says of the people of Surat: "a mixt people, quiet, peaceable, very subtle; civil, and universally governed under one King, but diversely lawed and customed".
13. 16
  To enforce the law.
  - De gram jury lawed me all de time an' dat place got too hot.
  - The only time I ever got lawed [arrested] was for the union. Happened three times.
14. 17
  To subject to legal restrictions.
  - Insurance may fairly be said to head the list of objects of legislative interference. It has been lawed and lawed until it is nearly outlawed, and the cry for more continues to go up unsatisfied
  - No man knew what his water rights were until they had been lawed over, and lawed over, and lawed over again.
  - It has been truly said that we are lawed into existence and lawed through life and lawed out of it more than any other nation
15. A tumulus of stones.
16. 19
  A hill.
  - [Y]ou might climb the Law, where the whale's jawbone stood landmark in the buzzing wind, and behold the face of many counties, and the smoke and spires of many towns, and the sails of distant ships.
17. A score
  A score; share of expense; legal charge.
18. 21
  An exclamation of mild surprise
  An exclamation of mild surprise; lawks; in interjections, a minced oath for Lord.
  - ‘Do tell me once for all, whether you intend to marry Mr Watts or not?’ ‘Law Mama, how can I tell you what I don't know myself?’
  - […] and my boots were a leetle 'eavier than they are, law bless my soul! I'd do it myself.
  - Arthur Sketchley. But, law bless my 'art , it's werry orful to be a forriner, as I were a-thinkin', and never be able to make yourself understood, except in that gibberish,
19. A surname originating as a patronymic.
20. A diminutive of the male given name Lawrence.
21. A topographic surname from Old English, perhaps originally meaning someone who lives near…
  A topographic surname from Old English, perhaps originally meaning someone who lives near a burial mound.
22. a conical hill
23. A village in South Lanarkshire council area, Scotland, United Kingdom (OS grid ref…
  A village in South Lanarkshire council area, Scotland, United Kingdom (OS grid ref NS8252).
24. Synonym of Torah
  Synonym of Torah: the five Books of Moses, particularly the commandments in it, as well as their specification in the Mishnah and their further interpretation in later religious literature.
25. the commandments in the Books of Moses, sometimes seen as transcended by Christ
26. the commandments and moral principles that are binding for Christians, such as the…
  the commandments and moral principles that are binding for Christians, such as the Decalogue, the teachings of the New Testament, the Church Fathers, etc.
27. A surname from Chinese.
28. Acronym of light anti-tank weapon.

The neighborhood

synonymact
synonymcanon
synonymcode
synonymconvention
synonymconstitution
synonymcorpus
synonymdecree
synonymdictate
synonymdirective
synonymdoctrine
synonymedict
synonymenactment
neighborlaw of nature
neighborlawe

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at law. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

A definitional loop anchored at law. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at law

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA

Etymology

Definitions

The neighborhood

Derived

Vish — recursive loop