bylaw

C2+ Topic:Law & Government

US /ˈbaɪlɔ/ UK /ˈbaɪlɔː/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a rule made by an organization or local authority to regulate its affairs

A new bylaw banned parking on the high street after dark.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a rule made by an... regulation ordinance rule statute edict

Word family

Related forms by law

Etymology

From Middle English bilawe, probably from Old Norse byr ('town, dwelling') + lagu ('law'), thus 'a town's own law', later reinterpreted as a 'secondary' (by-) law.

byr Old Norse lagu Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Law & Government

External links

# bylaw

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈbaɪlɔ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbaɪlɔː/

## Meanings
1. a rule made by an organization or local authority to regulate its affairs

## Examples
- A new bylaw banned parking on the high street after dark.

## Synonyms
- regulation
- ordinance
- rule
- statute
- edict

## Related Forms
- by
- law

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: byr
- Root: lagu

## Etymology
From Middle English bilawe, probably from Old Norse byr ('town, dwelling') + lagu ('law'), thus 'a town's own law', later reinterpreted as a 'secondary' (by-) law.

## AI Etymology
Bylaw comes from Middle English bilawe, probably from Old Norse byr ('town, dwelling') + lagu ('law'), thus 'a town's own law', later reinterpreted as a 'secondary' (by-) law. The historical trail runs through byr in Old Norse and lagu in Old Norse. Morphologically, bylaw is transparent: it draws on Middle English bilawe, probably from Old Norse byr ('town, dwelling') + lagu ('law'), thus 'a town's own law', later reinterpreted as a 'secondary' (by-) law. Used as a noun, bylaw now means "a rule made by an organization or local authority to regulate its affairs", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as by and law. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- Law & Government

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