English word origin

Etymology of lawly

From Middle English lawly, Northern variant of Middle English lowly, louly, louelich, equivalent to law (“low”) + -ly. More at lowly.

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 1 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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗

adj

Alternative form of lowly.

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

From Middle English lawly, Northern variant of Middle English lowly, louly, louelich, equivalent to law (“low”) + -ly. More at lowly.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionlawlyenm
Derivation mentionlowlyenm

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "lawly"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English lawly"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "lowly"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English lowly"
    },
    {
      "name": "suf",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "law",
        "3": "ly",
        "t1": "low",
        "id2": "adjectival"
      },
      "expansion": "law (“low”) + -ly"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "lawly",
      "lawly#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "lowly",
      "lowly#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "louly",
      "louly#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "louelich",
      "louelich#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "law",
      "law#English"
    ],
    [
      "-ly",
      "-ly#English:_adjectival"
    ],
    [
      "lowly",
      "lowly#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of lowly."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland",
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ],
      "recordId": "53d83a950d684d6a824e5dd8e833332d7ed15214edae99b6ae2f97359417e2fd",
      "rawRecordSha256": "c1e2e16af8636e6a630129a2c5709f04faba220bd8c1885154bed065bb8e20c2",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4327475
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

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 lawly →

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-bGF3bHk