Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “lawfully” come from?

lawfully (Middle English) comes from Middle English laweful, from Middle English lawe, from Old English lagu, from Old Norse lǫg, from Old Norse lág, from Old Norse leggja, from Proto-Germanic lagjaną, from Proto-Indo-European legʰ- — to lie.

lawfully (Middle English): Lawfully; in a way allowed by the law or legal...

Definitions

  1. Lawfully; in a way allowed by the law or legal...

Ancestry of “lawfully”, step by step

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

Words derived from “lawfully”

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