bylaw
/ˈbaɪ.lɔ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.60 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A local custom or law of a settlement or district.
noun
A rule made by a local authority to regulate its own affairs.
noun
A law or rule governing the internal affairs of an organization (e.g., corporation or business).
Etymology
From Middle English bylawe, bilawe, partly from Old English bīlage (“bylaw”) and partly from a variant of Middle English byrelawe, birlawe, from Old Norse býjar (“town's; settlement's”) + lǫg (“laws; jurisdiction”). Byrlaw is attested earlier in English but is unattested in Old Norse and the cognates in Scandinavian languages follow the development of bylaw: Danish bylov (“municipal law”), Swedish bylag and byalag.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: bylawe, bīlage, byrelawe, byjar
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈbaɪ.lɔ/
- British English: /ˈbaɪ.lɔː/