Link Centre Dictionary

law

UK/lɔː/ US/laː/ very common informal

noun

1.

legal document setting forth rules governing a particular kind of activity

  • “there is a law against kidnapping”
2.

the collection of rules imposed by authority

  • “civilization presupposes respect for the law”
  • “the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order”
Synonyms
3.

the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear

  • “he washed his face”
  • “I wish I had seen the look on his face when he got the news”
Synonyms
4.

a rule or body of rules of conduct inherent in human nature and essential to or binding upon human society

Synonyms
5.

the learned profession that is mastered by graduate study in a law school and that is responsible for the judicial system

  • “he studied law at Yale”
Synonyms
6.

the force of policemen and officers

  • “the law came looking for him”
Synonyms
7.

the branch of philosophy concerned with the law and the principles that lead courts to make the decisions they do

Synonyms

Origin

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”).

Phrases

  • above the law
  • administrative law
  • admiralty law
  • against the law
  • alternate law
  • Amagat's law
  • Amara's law
  • Amdahl's law
  • Largo Law
  • law of nature
  • Warden Law

Related words

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.