outlawry

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical law: the formal placing of a person outside the law and its protection

   The court's sentence of outlawry allowed the fugitive's property to be seized.

2. 2
   noun

   the condition or conduct of being an outlaw; lawlessness

   Years of outlawry left the band unable to return openly to the town.

3. 3
   noun

   figurative: exclusion from accepted society or its protection

   Her sudden disgrace produced a painful sense of social outlawry.

From Middle English outlawerie, influenced by Anglo-Norman utlagarie and Late Latin utlagaria; now understood as outlaw + -ry. Medieval outlawry withdrew the law's protection from a person who defied legal process, which encouraged broader senses of lawlessness and social exclusion.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images