Where does “lawfulness” come from?
Lawfulness derives from Middle English laufulnes, combining Middle English lawful with the suffix Middle English -nesse, from Old English -nes, ultimately tracing to Old Norse lǫg meaning law, and Proto-Indo-European roots lakw-, ḱley-, and pleh₁-.
lawfulness (English): Property of being lawful, of obeying the law;...
Definitions
- Property of being lawful, of obeying the law;...
Ancestry of “lawfulness”, step by step
lawfulness traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English lawful
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | lawful | Conforming to, or recognised by the laws of... |
| 2 | Middle English | laweful | Lawful; allowed by the law or legal system;... |
| 3 | Middle English | lawe | A law, regulation, or a group of them; Morality,... |
| 4 | Old English | lagu | sea, water, lake; the runic character ᛚ; law,... |
| 5 | Old Norse | lǫg | fate; situation, the condition that one is given... |
| 6 | Old Norse | lág | a felled tree; log; lying tree |
| 7 | Old Norse | leggja | to lay, place, put; to make, build |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | lagjaną | to lay, to place in a resting position |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | legʰ- | to lie |
via Middle English laufulnes
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | laufulnes | The state of honouring a contract, promise or... |