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Law
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17 dictionary results for: Law
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
law1       [law] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.the principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people, whether in the form of legislation or of custom and policies recognized and enforced by judicial decision.
2.any written or positive rule or collection of rules prescribed under the authority of the state or nation, as by the people in its constitution. Compare bylaw, statute law.
3.the controlling influence of such rules; the condition of society brought about by their observance: maintaining law and order.
4.a system or collection of such rules.
5.the department of knowledge concerned with these rules; jurisprudence: to study law.
6.the body of such rules concerned with a particular subject or derived from a particular source: commercial law.
7.an act of the supreme legislative body of a state or nation, as distinguished from the constitution.
8.the principles applied in the courts of common law, as distinguished from equity.
9.the profession that deals with law and legal procedure: to practice law.
10.legal action; litigation: to go to law.
11.a person, group, or agency acting officially to enforce the law: The law arrived at the scene soon after the alarm went off.
12.any rule or injunction that must be obeyed: Having a nourishing breakfast was an absolute law in our household.
13.a rule or principle of proper conduct sanctioned by conscience, concepts of natural justice, or the will of a deity: a moral law.
14.a rule or manner of behavior that is instinctive or spontaneous: the law of self-preservation.
15.(in philosophy, science, etc.)
a.a statement of a relation or sequence of phenomena invariable under the same conditions.
b.a mathematical rule.
16.a principle based on the predictable consequences of an act, condition, etc.: the law of supply and demand.
17.a rule, principle, or convention regarded as governing the structure or the relationship of an element in the structure of something, as of a language or work of art: the laws of playwriting; the laws of grammar.
18.a commandment or a revelation from God.
19.(sometimes initial capital letter) a divinely appointed order or system.
20.the Law. Law of Moses.
21.the preceptive part of the Bible, esp. of the New Testament, in contradistinction to its promises: the law of Christ.
22.British Sports. an allowance of time or distance given a quarry or competitor in a race, as the head start given a fox before the hounds are set after it.
–verb (used with object)
23.Chiefly Dialect. to sue or prosecute.
24.British. (formerly) to expeditate (an animal).
—Idioms
25.be a law to or unto oneself, to follow one's own inclinations, rules of behavior, etc.; act independently or unconventionally, esp. without regard for established mores.
26.lay down the law,
a.to state one's views authoritatively.
b.to give a command in an imperious manner: The manager laid down the law to the workers.
27.take the law into one's own hands, to administer justice as one sees fit without recourse to the usual law enforcement or legal processes: The townspeople took the law into their own hands before the sheriff took action.
[Origin: bef. 1000; ME law(e), lagh(e), OE lagu < ON *lagu, early pl. of lag layer, stratum, a laying in order, fixed tune, (in collective sense) law; akin to lay1, lie2]

—Related forms
lawlike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
law2       [law] Pronunciation Key
–adjective, adverb, noun Obsolete.
low1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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law3       [law] Pronunciation Key
–verb (used without object), verb (used with object), noun Obsolete.
low2.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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law4       [law] Pronunciation Key
–interjection Older Use.
(used as an exclamation expressing astonishment.)
[Origin: 1580–90; form of lord]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Law       [law] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.Andrew Bon·ar       [bon-er] Pronunciation Key, 1858–1923, English statesman, born in Canada: prime minister 1922–23.
2.John, 1671–1729, Scottish financier.
3.William, 1686–1761, English clergyman and devotional writer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
law       (lô)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. A rule of conduct or procedure established by custom, agreement, or authority.
    1. The body of rules and principles governing the affairs of a community and enforced by a political authority; a legal system: international law.
    2. The condition of social order and justice created by adherence to such a system: a breakdown of law and civilized behavior.
    3. The system of judicial administration giving effect to the laws of a community: All citizens are equal before the law.
    4. Legal action or proceedings; litigation: submit a dispute to law.
    5. An impromptu or extralegal system of justice substituted for established judicial procedure: frontier law.
    6. An agency or agent responsible for enforcing the law. Often used with the: "The law . . . stormed out of the woods as the vessel was being relieved of her cargo" (Sid Moody).
    7. Informal A police officer. Often used with the.
    8. The science and study of law; jurisprudence.
    9. Knowledge of law.
    10. The profession of an attorney.
    11. The body of principles or precepts held to express the divine will, especially as revealed in the Bible.
    12. The first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures.
    13. A rule or custom generally established in a particular domain: the unwritten laws of good sportsmanship.
    14. A way of life: the law of the jungle.
    15. A statement describing a relationship observed to be invariable between or among phenomena for all cases in which the specified conditions are met: the law of gravity.
    16. A generalization based on consistent experience or results: the law of supply and demand.
  3. A set of rules or principles dealing with a specific area of a legal system: tax law; criminal law.
  4. A piece of enacted legislation.
    1. The system of judicial administration giving effect to the laws of a community: All citizens are equal before the law.
    2. Legal action or proceedings; litigation: submit a dispute to law.
    3. An impromptu or extralegal system of justice substituted for established judicial procedure: frontier law.
    4. An agency or agent responsible for enforcing the law. Often used with the: "The law . . . stormed out of the woods as the vessel was being relieved of her cargo" (Sid Moody).
    5. Informal A police officer. Often used with the.
    6. The science and study of law; jurisprudence.
    7. Knowledge of law.
    8. The profession of an attorney.
    9. The body of principles or precepts held to express the divine will, especially as revealed in the Bible.
    10. The first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures.
    11. A rule or custom generally established in a particular domain: the unwritten laws of good sportsmanship.
    12. A way of life: the law of the jungle.
    13. A statement describing a relationship observed to be invariable between or among phenomena for all cases in which the specified conditions are met: the law of gravity.
    14. A generalization based on consistent experience or results: the law of supply and demand.
    1. An agency or agent responsible for enforcing the law. Often used with the: "The law . . . stormed out of the woods as the vessel was being relieved of her cargo" (Sid Moody).
    2. Informal A police officer. Often used with the.
    3. The science and study of law; jurisprudence.
    4. Knowledge of law.
    5. The profession of an attorney.
    6. The body of principles or precepts held to express the divine will, especially as revealed in the Bible.
    7. The first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures.
    8. A rule or custom generally established in a particular domain: the unwritten laws of good sportsmanship.
    9. A way of life: the law of the jungle.
    10. A statement describing a relationship observed to be invariable between or among phenomena for all cases in which the specified conditions are met: the law of gravity.
    11. A generalization based on consistent experience or results: the law of supply and demand.
    1. The science and study of law; jurisprudence.
    2. Knowledge of law.
    3. The profession of an attorney.
    4. The body of principles or precepts held to express the divine will, especially as revealed in the Bible.
    5. The first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures.
    6. A rule or custom generally established in a particular domain: the unwritten laws of good sportsmanship.
    7. A way of life: the law of the jungle.
    8. A statement describing a relationship observed to be invariable between or among phenomena for all cases in which the specified conditions are met: the law of gravity.
    9. A generalization based on consistent experience or results: the law of supply and demand.
  8. Something, such as an order or a dictum, having absolute or unquestioned authority: The commander's word was law.
  9. Law
    1. The body of principles or precepts held to express the divine will, especially as revealed in the Bible.
    2. The first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures.
    3. A rule or custom generally established in a particular domain: the unwritten laws of good sportsmanship.
    4. A way of life: the law of the jungle.
    5. A statement describing a relationship observed to be invariable between or among phenomena for all cases in which the specified conditions are met: the law of gravity.
    6. A generalization based on consistent experience or results: the law of supply and demand.
  10. A code of principles based on morality, conscience, or nature.
    1. A rule or custom generally established in a particular domain: the unwritten laws of good sportsmanship.
    2. A way of life: the law of the jungle.
    3. A statement describing a relationship observed to be invariable between or among phenomena for all cases in which the specified conditions are met: the law of gravity.
    4. A generalization based on consistent experience or results: the law of supply and demand.
    1. A statement describing a relationship observed to be invariable between or among phenomena for all cases in which the specified conditions are met: the law of gravity.
    2. A generalization based on consistent experience or results: the law of supply and demand.
  13. Mathematics A general principle or rule that is assumed or that has been proven to hold between expressions.
  14. A principle of organization, procedure, or technique: the laws of grammar; the laws of visual perspective.

intr.v.   lawed, law·ing, laws
To go to law; litigate.


[Middle English, from Old English lagu, from Old Norse *lagu, variant of lag, that which is laid down; see legh- in Indo-European roots.]

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Law,   (Andrew)
Canadian-born British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer (1916-1918) and prime minister (1922-1923).

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Law, John 1671-1729.  
Scottish financier active in France, where he engaged in highly profitable speculation on the development of Louisiana. The investment scheme ultimately collapsed, and he fled the country in ruin (1720).

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
law 
O.E. lagu (pl. laga, comb. form lah-), from O.N. *lagu "law," collective pl. of lag "layer, measure, stroke," lit. "something laid down or fixed," from P.Gmc. *lagan "put, lay" (see lay (v.)). Replaced O.E. æ and gesetnes, which had the same sense development as law. Cf. also statute, from L. statuere, Ger. Gesetz "law," from O.H.G. gisatzida, Lith. istatymas, from istatyti "set up, establish." Lawsuit is from 1624. Law and order have been coupled since 1796. Law-abiding is from 1859.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
law

noun
1. the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order" 
2. legal document setting forth rules governing a particular kind of activity; "there is a law against kidnapping" 
3. a rule or body of rules of conduct inherent in human nature and essential to or binding upon human society 
4. a generalization that describes recurring facts or events in nature; "the laws of thermodynamics" 
5. the branch of philosophy concerned with the law and the principles that lead courts to make the decisions they do [syn: jurisprudence] 
6. 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" 
7. the force of policemen and officers; "the law came looking for him" [syn: police] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

law

In addition to the idioms beginning with law, also see above suspicion (the law); lay down the law; letter of the law; long arm of the law; Murphy's law; possession is nine points of the law; take the law into one's hands; unwritten law.


The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
law       (lô)  Pronunciation Key 
A statement that describes invariable relationships among phenomena under a specified set of conditions. Boyle's law, for instance, describes what will happen to the volume of an ideal gas if its pressure changes and its temperature remains the same. The conditions under which some physical laws hold are idealized (for example, there are no ideal gases in the real world), thus some physical laws apply universally but only approximately. See Note at hypothesis.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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law
software law

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Law

Boyle's" law`\ See under Law.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Law

By"-law`\ (b[imac]"-l[add]`), n. [Cf. Sw. bylag, D. bylov, Icel. b[=y]arl["o]g, fr. Sw. & Dan. by town, Icel. b[ae]r, byr (fr. b[^u]a to dwell) + the word for law; hence, a law for one town, a special law. Cf. Birlaw and see Law.]

1. A local or subordinate law; a private law or regulation made by a corporation for its own government.

There was likewise a law to restrain the by-laws, or ordinances of corporations. --Bacon.

The law or institution; to which are added two by-laws, as a comment upon the general law. --Addison.

2. A law that is less important than a general law or constitutional provision, and subsidiary to it; a rule relating to a matter of detail; as, civic societies often adopt a constitution and by-laws for the government of their members. In this sense the word has probably been influenced by by, meaning secondary or aside.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Law

Can"on\, n. [OE. canon, canoun, AS. canon rule (cf. F. canon, LL. canon, and, for sense 7, F. chanoine, LL. canonicus), fr. L. canon a measuring line, rule, model, fr. Gr. ? rule, rod, fr. ?, ?, red. See Cane, and cf. Canonical.]

1. A law or rule.

Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon 'gainst self-slaughter. --Shak.

2. (Eccl.) A law, or rule of doctrine or discipline, enacted by a council and confirmed by the pope or the sovereign; a decision, regulation, code, or constitution made by ecclesiastical authority.

Various canons which were made in councils held in the second centry. --Hock.

3. The collection of books received as genuine Holy Scriptures, called the sacred canon, or general rule of moral and religious duty, given by inspiration; the Bible; also, any one of the canonical Scriptures. See Canonical books, under Canonical, a.

4. In monasteries, a book containing the rules of a religious order.

5. A catalogue of saints acknowledged and canonized in the Roman Catholic Church.

6. A member of a cathedral chapter; a person who possesses a prebend in a cathedral or collegiate church.

7. (Mus.) A musical composition in which the voices begin one after another, at regular intervals, successively taking up the same subject. It either winds up with a coda (tailpiece), or, as each voice finishes, commences anew, thus forming a perpetual fugue or round. It is the strictest form of imitation. See Imitation.

8. (Print.) The largest size of type having a specific name; -- so called from having been used for printing the canons of the church.

9. The part of a bell by which it is suspended; -- called also ear and shank.

Note: [See Illust. of Bell.] --Knight.

10. (Billiards) See Carom.

Apostolical canons. See under Apostolical.

Augustinian canons, Black canons. See under Augustinian.

Canon capitular, Canon residentiary, a resident member of a cathedral chapter (during a part or the whole of the year).

Canon law. See under Law.

Canon of the Mass (R. C. Ch.), that part of the mass, following the Sanctus, which never changes.

Honorary canon, a canon who neither lived in a monastery, nor kept the canonical hours.

Minor canon (Ch. of Eng.), one who has been admitted to a chapter, but has not yet received a prebend.

Regular canon (R. C. Ch.), one who lived in a conventual community and follower the rule of St. Austin; a Black canon.

Secular canon (R. C. Ch.), one who did not live in a monastery, but kept the hours.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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LAW

LAW: in Acronym Finder

Acronym Finder, © 1988-2007 Mountain Data Systems
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