*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Law

Clipping of Lawrence.

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
name

A surname originating as a patronymic. · A diminutive of the male given name Lawrence.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Clipping of Lawrence.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Lawrence"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of Lawrence"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Lawrence",
      "Lawrence#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A surname originating as a patronymic.",
        "A diminutive of the male given name Lawrence."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
name

A topographic surname from Old English, perhaps originally meaning someone who lives near a burial mound. · a conical hill · A village in South Lanarkshire council area, Scotland, United Kingdom (OS grid ref NS8252).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Old English hlaw (“a hill or burial mound”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mentionhlawang
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hlaw",
        "4": "",
        "5": "a hill or burial mound"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hlaw (“a hill or burial mound”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "hlaw",
      "hlaw#Old_English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A topographic surname from Old English, perhaps originally meaning someone who lives near a burial mound.",
        "a conical hill",
        "A village in South Lanarkshire council area, Scotland, United Kingdom (OS grid ref NS8252)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable",
        "Scotland"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
name

Synonym of Torah: the five Books of Moses, particularly the commandments in it, as well as their specification in the Mishnah and their further interpretation in later religious literature. · the commandments in the Books of Moses, sometimes seen as transcended by Christ · the commandments and moral principles that are binding for Christians, such as the Decalogue, the teachings of the New Testament, the Church Fathers, etc.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

A semantic loan of Greek νόμος (nómos, “law”), rendering Hebrew תּוֹרָה (tōrāh, “instruction, teaching”) in the sense of divine law.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "semantic loan",
      "semantic loan"
    ],
    [
      "νόμος",
      "νόμος#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "תּוֹרָה",
      "תורה#Hebrew"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "Synonym of Torah: the five Books of Moses, particularly the commandments in it, as well as their specification in the Mishnah and their further interpretation in later religious literature.",
        "the commandments in the Books of Moses, sometimes seen as transcended by Christ",
        "the commandments and moral principles that are binding for Christians, such as the Decalogue, the teachings of the New Testament, the Church Fathers, etc."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Judaism"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 469828
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}

Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
name

A surname from Chinese.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Cantonese 羅 /罗 (lo⁴). Doublet of Luo and Lo.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mention羅yue
  • Doublet mentionLuoen
  • Doublet mentionLoen
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "yue",
        "3": "羅"
      },
      "expansion": "Cantonese 羅 /罗 (lo⁴)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Luo",
        "3": "Lo"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of Luo and Lo"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "羅",
      "羅#Cantonese"
    ],
    [
      "罗",
      "罗#Cantonese"
    ],
    [
      "Luo",
      "Luo#English"
    ],
    [
      "Lo",
      "Lo#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A surname from Chinese."
      ],
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Law →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-TGF3