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BIBLIOGRAPHIC IDENTITYetymonline-law

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historical dictionaryetymonline-law

Law — Origin and history

AUTHOR / EDITOR
Douglas Harper
YEAR
2026
PUBLISHER
Online Etymology Dictionary
DOI
Not recorded
SOURCE TYPE
historical dictionary
EXTERNAL RECORD
OPEN ORIGINAL ↗
3CANONICAL EDGES
0WITNESSES
0COMPARISONS
0CONTEXT LINKS
0RANKED REVEALS
0DISPUTES
1JOURNEY STAGES
1WORD DOSSIERS
01

CONTRARIAN TRUTH CLAIMS

RANKED REVEALS THAT CITE THIS SOURCE

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No ranked contrarian reveal currently cites this source.
02

SCHOLARLY DISAGREEMENT

DISPUTE POSITIONS THAT CITE THIS SOURCE

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No scholarly dispute currently cites this source.
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CANONICAL RELATIONSHIP CLAIMS

EDGES THAT CITE THIS SOURCE

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EDGE 464supportsestablished

law → lawe / laue

Present-Day English → Middle English · historical continuation

SOUND
Middle English lawe / laue stabilizes as law while later English vowel history produces the modern pronunciation.
MEANING
The inherited legal-rule sense expands to bodies of law, professions, and regular principles in science.
SCHOLAR / EDITOR
Merriam-Webster · Etymonline editors
Headword history and later senses

Documents Middle English laue and the expansion into physical, legal, and institutional senses.

OPEN THE PERMANENT CLAIM ↗
EDGE 466supportsestablished

lagu → lǫg / lög; lag

Old English → Old Norse · borrowing

SOUND
Old English adapts a Scandinavian law-word represented by Old Norse lǫg / lög and lag.
MEANING
What is laid down or put in order becomes a prescribed rule and legal institution.
SCHOLAR / EDITOR
Merriam-Webster · Etymonline editors
Headword history: Old English lagu from Old Norse *lagu

Independently documents the Scandinavian transmission.

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EDGE 468supportsprobable

*lagam → *legh-

Proto-Germanic → Proto-Indo-European · inheritance

SOUND
Proto-Germanic *lagam reflects an o-grade formation in the PIE *legh- “lie, lay” family.
MEANING
The concrete act of laying becomes an established order and law.
SCHOLAR / EDITOR
American Heritage · UT LRC · Etymonline editors
Headword history: Proto-Germanic *lagam from PIE *legh-

Publishes the reconstructed transition.

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04

LEXICAL ATTESTATIONS

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0
No lexical witness currently cites this source.
05

COMPARATIVE EVIDENCE

COGNATES, DESCENDANTS, AND RELATIVES

0
No comparative-relative record currently cites this source.
06

GEOGRAPHIC AND TEMPORAL CLAIMS

JOURNEY STAGES THAT CITE THIS SOURCE

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07

NON-GENEALOGICAL CONNECTIONS

HISTORICAL CONTEXT, KEPT SEPARATE

0
No non-genealogical context link currently cites this source.
08

WORD-FAMILY REUSE

DOSSIERS THAT DEPEND ON THIS SOURCE

1
law4 CLAIM LINKS↗

3 entry-scoped citations map reviewed dossier paths onto the canonical claims above.