law

1.
a. all the rules of conduct established and enforced by the authority, legislation, or
custom of a given community, state, or other group: often with the
b. any one of such rules
2. the condition existing when obedience to such rules is general: to establish law and order
3. the branch of knowledge dealing with such rules; jurisprudence
4. the system of courts in which such rules are referred to in defending one's rights, securing
justice, etc.: to resort to law to settle a matter
5. all such rules having to do with a particular sphere of human activity: business law
6. common law, as distinguished from equity
7. the profession of lawyers, judges, etc.: often with the
8.
a. a sequence of events in nature or in human activities that has been observed to occur
with unvarying uniformity under the same conditions
often law of nature
b. the formulation in words of such a sequence: the law of gravitation, the law of
diminishing returns
9. any rule or principle expected to be observed: the laws of health, a law of grammar
10. inherent tendency; instinct: the law of self-preservation
11. ECCLES.
a. a divine commandment
b. all divine commandments collectively
12. a general principle to which all applicable cases must conform: the laws of exponents
13. BRIT., SPORTSan allowance in distance or time as in a race; handicap
Origin of law
Middle English lawe from Old English lagu from Anglo-Norman an unverified form lagu,
akin to Old Norse l?g, plural of lag, something laid down or settled from Indo-European
base an unverified form legh-, to lie down from source lie
INFORMAL, DIAL.to take legal action (against)

law Idioms
go to law
to take a problem or dispute to a law court for settlement
lay down the law
1. to give explicit orders in an authoritative manner
2. to give a scolding (to)
read law
to study to become a lawyer
the Law
1. the Mosaic law, or the part of the Jewish Scriptures containing it; specif., the Pentateuch
2. [the l-]INFORMALa policeman or the police
law
See also crime; government
allographa signature of a proxy, one who is not party to the transaction at hand. —
allographic, adj.angarythe right of a nation at war to destroy the property of a neutral,
subject to indemnification.anomie, anomy, anomiaa state or condition of individuals or
society characterized by an absence or breakdown of social and legal norms and
values, as in the case of an uprooted people. —anomic, adj.antinomya real or apparent
contradiction in a statute. —antinomic, antinomian, adj.antinomianismthe theological
doctrine maintaining that Christians are freed from both moral and civil law by God’s gift
of grace. —antinomian, antinomist, n.asseverationthe solemn affirmation of the truth
of a statement. —asseverator, n. —asseverative, adj.avowtrythe crime of
adultery.barratrythe offense of frequently exciting or stirring up suits and quarrels
between others. —barrator, n. —barratrous, adj.batteryan intentional act that, directly
or indirectly, causes harmful contact with another’s person.caveata legal notice to
beware; a notice placed on file until the caveator can be heard. —caveator, n. —
caveatee, n.civilista person who studies civil law.compurgationformerly, in common
law, acquittal on the basis of endorsement by the friends or neighbors of the accused.
Also called trial by wager of law. —compurgator, n. —
compurgatory, adj.compurgatorone who testifies to the innocence of an accused
person.constructionista person who puts a particular interpretation on provisions of the
U.S. Constitution, especially those provisions dealing with the rights of individuals and
states.coverturethe status of a married woman.criminalisman act or action having the
character of a crime. Also criminality. —criminal, n., adj.culpability1. the condition of
blameworthiness, criminality, censurability. 2. Obsolete, guilt. —
culpable, adj.delinquencya condition of guilt; failure to do that which the law or other
obligation requires. See also finance. —delinquent, adj.dicealolgyObsolete, a
delineation of jurisdiction.dikephobiaan abnormal fear or dislike of
justice.disherisonArchaic. 1. the act of disinheriting. 2. the condition of being
disinherited.Draconianismany unreasonable harshness or severity in laws. —
Draconian, Draconic, adj.easementthe right one landowner has been granted over the
land of another, as the right of access to water, right of way, etc., at no
charge.feudist1. a specialist in law relating to the feudal system. 2. a person who holds
or Iets land under the provisions of the feudal system.fiduciarya person to whom
property or power is entrusted for the benefit of another. —fiducial,
fiduciary, adj.jurisprudence1. law as a science or philosophy. 2. a system of laws or a
particular branch of law. —jurisprudent, adj.Justinianistan expert on the codification
and revision of Roman laws ordered by the 6th-century Byzantine emperor Justinian. —
Justinian code, n.legaleselanguage typical of lawyers, laws, legal forms, etc.,
characterized by archaic usage, prolixity, redundancy and extreme
thoroughness.legalisma strict and usually literal adherence to the law. —
legalistic, adj.legista person who is skilled or well versed in law.litigiomaniaa
 compulsion for involving oneself in legal disputes.nomismthe practice of religious
legalism, especially the basing of standards of good actions upon the moral
law.nomocracya system of government based on a legal code.nomography1. the art of
drafting laws. 2. a treatise on the drawing up of laws. —nomographer, n.
— nomographic, adj.nomologythe science of law. —nomologist, n. —
nomological, adj.nonagethe state of being under the age required by law to enter into
certain responsibilities or obligations, as marrying, entering into contracts, etc. See
also church; property and ownership.pandecta legal code or complete body or system
of laws.pandectist1. the writer of a complete code of the laws of a country. 2. the writer
of a complete digest of materials on a subject.pettifogger1. a lawyer whose practice is of
a small or petty character; a lawyer of little importance. 2. a shyster lawyer. —
pettifoggery, n.postremogeniturethe rights or legal status of the last child bom in a
family. Also called ultimogeniture. Cf. primogeniture.primogeniturethe rights or legal
status of the first born in a family. Cf. postremogeniture.publicistan expert in public or
international law.revisionismthe advocacy of revision, especially in relation to court
decisions. —revisionist, n. —revisionary, adj.squatterism1. the state or practice of
being a squatter, or one who settles on government land, thereby establishing
ownership. 2. the state or practice of settling in vacant or abandoned property, either for
shelter or in an attempt to establish ownership. —squatter, n.symbolaeographythe
drawing up of legal documents. —
symbolaeographer, n.ultimogeniturepostremogeniture.vassalage1. the condition of
land tenure of a vassal. 2. the fief or lands held.
Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Noun
(countable and uncountable, plural laws)
1. (uncountable) The body of rules and standards issued by a government, or to be applied
by courts and similar authorities.
By law, one is not allowed to own a wallaby in New York City.
2. A particular such rule.
A new law forbids driving on that road.
3. (more generally) A written or understood rule that concerns behaviours and
their consequences. Laws are usually associated with mores.
"Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you" is a good law to follow.
 4. (sciences, strictly) A well-established, observed physical characteristic or behavior of nature.
The word is used to simply identify "what happens," without implying any explanatory
mechanism or causation. Compare to theory.
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.
5. (mathematics) A statement that is true under specified conditions.
6. A category of English "common law" petitions that request monetary relief, as opposed to
relief in forms other than a monetary judgment; compare to "equity".
7. (cricket) One of the official rules of cricket as codified by the MCC.
8. (slang, uncountable) The police.
Here comes the law "” run!
9. (fantasy) One of the two metaphysical forces of the world in some fantasy settings, as
opposed to chaos.
10. An oath, as in the presence of a court. See wager of law.
Origin
From Middle English lawe, laȝe, from Old English lagu (“law"), from Old Norse *lagu, an early
plural form of lag, lÇ«g (“layer, stratum, a laying in order, measure, stroke, law", literally
“something laid down or fixed"), from Proto-Germanic *lagÄ… (“that which is laid down"),
from Proto-Indo-European *legh- (“to lie"). Cognate with Icelandic lög (“things laid down,
law"), Swedish lag (“law"), Danish lov (“law"). Replaced Old English Ç£ and gesetnes. More
at lay.

Noun
(plural laws)
1. (Scottish and northern dialectal, archaic) a hill
Origin
From Old English hlāw (“burial mound"). Also spelled low.

Interjection
1. (dated) An exclamation of mild surprise; lawks.
Origin
Compare la.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
  Link/Cite
Link to this page
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Cite this page
MLA Style
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APA Style
Law. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Law
law - Computer Definition
A statement of scientific fact, phenomena, or relationships that occur with unvarying uniformity
under given conditions.