Nearby Words

by-law

By-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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By-law is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
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