law

law Vorlage:engl. Wrtdtng: 'Gelegt' zu dt. 'Gesetz', die einen legten, die anderen setzten; im aengl. noch jeweils beides, im ahdt. nur setzen.

Nbnwrtfrmen lag, leg, log,

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: lô, IPA^(key): /lɔː/

• (US) enPR: lô, IPA^(key): /lɔ/
• (cot–caught merger) enPR: lä, IPA^(key): /lɑ/

• (General Australian) enPR: lô, IPA^(key): /ɫoː/

Etymology 1

Aus mengl. lawe, laȝe, aus aengl. lagu „Gesetz“, entlehnt aus anord. lǫg „Gesetz“, wörtlich „festgelegte oder fest etablierte Dinge“, ursprünglich der Plural von lag „Schicht, Schichtung, eine Anordnung, Maß, Strich“), aus uger. *lagą „das, was festgelegt ist“, aus uig. *legʰ- „liegen“. Verwandt mit scot. law „Gesetz“, isl. lög„festgelegte Dinge, Gesetz“, färöischem lóg „Gesetz“, norw. lov „Gesetz“, swed. lag („Gesetz“), dän. lov „Gesetz“, fin. laki „Gesetz“). Ersetzte aengl. ǣ und ġesetnes. Mehr unter 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”).

Noun

law (countable and uncountable, plural laws)

1. (usually with "the") The body of binding rules and regulations, customs and standards established in a community by its legislative and judicial authorities.[ quotations ▼]

   The courts interpret the law but should not make it.

   In theory, entrapment is against the law.

1. 1. The body of such rules that pertain to a particular topic.

      property law

      commercial hunting and fishing law

   2. Common law, as contrasted with equity.
2. A binding regulation or custom established in a community in this way. [ quotations ▼]

   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. (more generally) A rule, such as:
   1. Any rule that must or should be obeyed, concerning behaviours and their consequences. (Compare mores.)

      "Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you" is a good law to follow.

      the law of self-preservation

   2. A rule or principle regarding the construction of language or art. [ quotations ▼]

      the laws of playwriting and poetry

   3. A statement (in physics, etc) of an (observed, established) order or sequence or relationship of phenomena which is invariable under certain conditions. (Compare theory.) [ synonym ▲][ quotations ▼]

      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:law of nature

1. 1. the laws of thermodynamics

      Newton's third law of motion states that to every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction.

      This is one of several laws derived from his general theory expounded in the Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.

   2. (mathematics, logic) A statement (of relation) that is true under specified conditions; a mathematical or logical rule.

      Mathematical laws can be proved purely through mathematics, without scientific experimentation.

   3. Any statement of the relation of acts and conditions to their consequences.

      the law of scarcity

      the law of supply and demand

   4. (linguistics) A sound law; a regular change in the pronunciation of a language.

      Grimm's law

      Dahl's law

   5. (cricket) One of the official rules of cricket as codified by the its (former) governing body, the MCC.
2. 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.

3. (informal) A person or group that act(s) with authority to uphold such rules and order (for example, one or more police officers). [ quotations ▼]

   Here comes the law — run!

   then the law arrived on the scene

4. 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.

5. Jurisprudence, the field of knowledge which encompasses these rules.

   She went to university to study law.

6. Litigation; legal action (as a means of maintaining or restoring order, redressing wrongs, etc).

   They were quick to go to law.

7. (now uncommon) 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.[ quotations ▼]
8. (aviation) A mode of operation of the flight controls of a fly-by-wire aircraft.

   normal law; alternate law; direct law

9. (fantasy) One of two metaphysical forces ruling the world in some fantasy settings, also called order, and opposed to chaos.
10. (law, chiefly historical) 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".) [ quotations ▼]

Verb

law (third-person singular simple present laws, present participle lawing, simple past and past participle lawed)

1. (obsolete) To work as a lawyer; to practice law. [ quotations ▼]
2. (transitive, intransitive, chiefly dialectal) To prosecute or sue (someone), to litigate. [ quotations ▼]
3. (nonstandard) To rule over (with a certain effect) by law; to govern. [ quotations ▼]
4. (informal) To enforce the law. [ quotations ▼]
5. To subject to legal restrictions. [ quotations ▼]

See also

• Appendix:Legal terms
• Appendix:Glossary of legal terms
• Category:Law
• lawe

Etymology 2

From Middle English lawe, from Old English hlāw (“burial mound”). Also spelled low.

Noun

law (plural laws)

1. (obsolete) A tumulus of stones.
2. (Northern England, Scotland, archaic) A hill. [ quotations ▼]

Etymology 3

From Middle English lagh, from Old Norse lag (“that which is lying or laid, position, price, way, sting, blow”), from Proto-Germanic *lagą (“that which is laid”). Cognate with Scots lauch (“one's tavern-reckoning or one's share of the cost, a score; a payment for drink or entertainment”), Middle English lai (“one's share of expenses, one's bill or account”).

Noun

law (plural laws)

1. (dialectal or obsolete) A score; share of expense; legal charge.

Related terms

• lawing

Etymology 4

Compare la and Lawd.

Interjection

law

1. (dated) An exclamation of mild surprise; lawks; in interjections, a minced oath for Lord. [ quotations ▼]

Related terms

• laws (“minced oath for 'Lord'”)

References

• 2021 October 21, Harold F. Farwell, J. Karl Nicholas, Smoky Mountain Voices: A Lexicon of Southern Appalachian Speech Based on the Research of Horace Kephart, University Press of Kentucky, →ISBN:

  Laws-a-mighty me! Law bless my heart! Laws-a-mercy! (J 2:607). "Laws-a-marcy, how it does hurt!" (B 303). "I'm a-waitin' fer Jim Johnson, and with the help of the Lawd I'm goin' to blow his damn head off" (B 347).