SOURCE 01supportshistorical dictionary
Law — Word History
Documents law's immediate Scandinavian and Germanic route.
Word History: Old English lagu, of Scandinavian origin- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
- YEAR
- 2026
- PUBLISHER
- Merriam-Webster
PERMANENT DISPUTE RECORD
ALL DISPUTES ↗CLAIM / COUNTERCLAIM / LIMITRECORD 145
DISPUTE
RECORD.
One scholarly question. Every attached source. The present editorial state, without pretending the last word has been written.
resolvedestablished
Is English law the source of legal—or vice versa?
No. Law comes through Old English lagu from Scandinavian; legal comes through Anglo-French and Latin legalis from lēx. Their shared modern subject matter is not an immediate genealogical relationship.
WORD UNDER REVIEWDISPUTE 145
law
/lɔː/ · noun · verb
A binding rule, body of rules, or regular principle; a Scandinavian loan in Old English whose deepest secure family means lie or lay.
01
DIRECT CLAIM EVIDENCE
2 SOURCES WITH A STANCE
A citation is not a vote. Each record says whether the work supports, challenges, contradicts, or contextualizes the position—and identifies the exact locus used.
SOURCE 02supportshistorical dictionary
Legal — Word History
Documents legal's distinct immediate Latin route.
Word History: Anglo-French legal from Latin legalis and lex- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
- YEAR
- 2026
- PUBLISHER
- Merriam-Webster
02 / EDITORIAL STATE
THE CURRENT RECORD IS RESOLVED.
- CONFIDENCE
- established
- STATUS
- resolved
- LEGACY SOURCE SUMMARY
- Merriam-Webster publishes distinct immediate histories for law and legal.
The dossiers remain separate until their explicitly competing deep routes are reached.