Where does “Law” come from?
Law derives from Middle English lawe, from Old English hlāw, from Old Norse lǫg, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots ḱel- and ḱley-, which developed through lakw-.
Law (English): perhaps originally meaning someone who lives near a burial mound
Definitions
- perhaps originally meaning someone who lives near a burial mound
Ancestry of “Law”, step by step
Law traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English speaker
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | speaker | One who speaks; Loudspeaker; Speakerphone |
| 2 | English | -ine | Of or pertaining to; Used to form demonyms;... |
| 3 | French | -ine | feminine singular of -in; female equivalent of... |
| 4 | French | -é | past participle root verb suffix of regular -er... |
| 5 | Middle French | -é | past participle root verb suffix of regular; -ed, -en, -n |
| 6 | Old French | -é | used to form past participles of regular -er... |
| 7 | Latin | -a | suffixed to the roots of verbs, forms agent... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -ā | Forms masculine agent nouns from prefixed or compounded bases |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -éh₂ | — |
via Old English hlāw
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | hlāw | burial mound; hill, ound; mound |
| 2 | Old English | tūn | enclosure, yard; place; dwelling |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | tūn | fence |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | tūną | fence; enclosure |
| 5 | Gaulish | dunum | fort; hill, hillfort |
| 6 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |
via Middle English lawe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | lawe | A law, regulation, or a group of them; Morality,... |
| 2 | Old English | lagu | sea, water, lake; the runic character ᛚ; law,... |
| 3 | Old Norse | lǫg | fate; situation, the condition that one is given... |
| 4 | Old Norse | lág | a felled tree; log; lying tree |
| 5 | Old Norse | leggja | to lay, place, put; to make, build |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | lagjaną | to lay, to place in a resting position |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | legʰ- | to lie |