Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “unlawful” come from?

Unlawful derives from English law combined with the suffix -ful, where law descends through Old English lagu from Proto-Germanic *lagu, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- meaning to fill or be full.

unlawful (English): Prohibited; not permitted by law

Definitions

  1. Prohibited; not permitted by law

Ancestry of “unlawful”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishlawfulConforming to, or recognised by the laws of...
2Middle EnglishlawefulLawful; allowed by the law or legal system;...
3Middle EnglishlaweA law, regulation, or a group of them; Morality,...
4Old Englishlagusea, water, lake; the runic character ᛚ; law,...
5Old Norselǫgfate; situation, the condition that one is given...
6Old Norselága felled tree; log; lying tree
7Old Norseleggjato lay, place, put; to make, build
8Proto-Germaniclagjanąto lay, to place in a resting position
9Proto-Indo-Europeanlegʰ-to lie

Words derived from “unlawful”

  • unlawfully
Every word from Proto-Indo-European legʰ- →