A law

[law] /lɔ/
noun
andrew bonar
[bon-er] /ˈbɒn ər/ (show ipa), 1858–1923, english statesman, born in canada: prime minister 1922–23.
john, 1671–1729, scottish financier.
william, 1686–1761, english clergyman and devotional writer.
law1
/lɔː/
noun
a rule or set of rules, enforceable by the courts, regulating the government of a state, the relationship between the organs of government and the subjects of the state, and the relationship or conduct of subjects towards each other

a rule or body of rules made by the legislature see statute law
a rule or body of rules made by a munic-p-l or other authority see bylaw

the condition and control enforced by such rules
(in combination): lawcourt

a rule of conduct: a law of etiquette
one of a set of rules governing a particular field of activity: the laws of tennis
the law

the legal or judicial system
the profession or practice of law
(informal) the police or a policeman

a binding force or statement: his word is law
also called law of nature. a generalization based on a recurring fact or event
the science or knowledge of law; jurisprudence
the principles originating and formerly applied only in courts of common law compare equity (sense 3)
a general principle, formula, or rule describing a phenomenon in mathematics, science, philosophy, etc: the laws of thermodynamics
(capital) (judaism) the law

short for law of moses
the english term for torah see also oral law, written law

a law unto itself, a law unto himself, a person or thing that is outside established laws
go to law, to resort to legal proceedings on some matter
lay down the law, to speak in an authoritative or dogmatic manner
(judaism) reading the law, reading of the law, that part of the morning service on sabbaths, festivals, and mondays and thursdays during which a p-ssage is read from the torah scrolls
take the law into one’s own hands, to ignore or byp-ss the law when redressing a grievance
related
adjectives judicial jural juridical legal
word origin
old english lagu, from scandinavian; compare icelandic lög (pl) things laid down, law
law2
/lɔː/
noun
(scot) a hill, esp one rounded in shape
word origin
old english hlǣw
law3
/lɔː/
adjective
a scot word for low1
law
/lɔː/
noun
andrew bonar (ˈbɒnə). 1858–1923, british conservative statesman, born in canada; prime minister (1922–23)
denis. born 1940, scottish footballer; a striker, he played for manchester united (1962–73) and scotland (30 goals in 55 games, 1958–74); european footballer of the year (1964)
john. 1671–1729, scottish financier. he founded the first bank in france (1716) and the mississippi scheme for the development of louisiana (1717), which collapsed due to excessive speculation
jude. born 1972, british film actor, who starred in the talented mr ripley (1999), cold mountain (2003), and sherlock holmes (2009)
william. 1686–1761, british anglican divine, best known for a serious call to a holy and devout life (1728)
law
n.

old english lagu (plural laga, comb. form lah-) “law, ordinance, rule, regulation; district governed by the same laws,” from old norse -lagu “law,” collective plural of lag “layer, measure, stroke,” literally “something laid down or fixed,” from proto-germanic -lagan “put, lay” (see lay (v.)).

replaced old english æ and gesetnes, which had the same sense development as law. cf. also statute, from latin statuere; german gesetz “law,” from old high german gisatzida; lithuanian istatymas, from istatyti “set up, establish.” in physics, from 1660s. law and order have been coupled since 1796.

law (lô)