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n. Idioms: 1. A rule of conduct or procedure established by custom, agreement, or authority. 2. a. The body of rules and principles governing the affairs of a community and enforced by a political authority; a legal system: international law. b. The condition of social order and justice created by adherence to such a system: a breakdown of law and civilized behavior. 3. A set of rules or principles dealing with a specific area of a legal system: tax law; criminal law. 4. a. A statute, ordinance, or other rule enacted by a legislature. b. A judicially established legal requirement; a precedent. 5. a. The system of judicial administration giving effect to the laws of a community: All citizens are equal before the law. b. Legal action or proceedings; litigation: submit a dispute to law. c. An impromptu or extralegal system of justice substituted for established judicial procedure: frontier law. 6. a. An agency or agent responsible for enforcing the law. Often used with the: "The law ... stormed out of the woods as the vessel was being relieved of her cargo" (Sid Moody). b. Informal A police officer. Often used with the. 7. a. The science and study of law; jurisprudence. b. Knowledge of law. c. The profession of an attorney. 8. Something, such as an order or a dictum, having absolute or unquestioned authority: The commander's word was law. 9. Law a. A body of principles or precepts held to express the divine will, especially as revealed in the Bible. b. The first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures. 10. A code of principles based on morality, conscience, or nature. 11. a. A rule or custom generally established in a particular domain: the unwritten laws of good sportsmanship. b. A way of life: the law of the jungle. 12. a. A statement describing a relationship observed to be invariable between or among phenomena for all cases in which the specified conditions are met: the law of gravity. b. A generalization based on consistent experience or results: the law of supply and demand. 13. Mathematics A general principle or rule that is assumed or that has been proven to hold between expressions. 14. A principle of organization, procedure, or technique: the laws of grammar; the laws of visual perspective. a law unto (oneself) A totally independent operator: An executive who is a law unto herself. take the law into (one's) own hands To mete out justice as one sees fit without due recourse to law enforcement agencies or the courts. [Middle English, from Old English lagu, from Old Norse *lagu, variant of lag, that which is laid down; see legh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
Canadian-born British politician who served as chancellor of the exchequer (1916-1919) and prime minister (1922-1923). |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
