bylaw

Meaning

1. A local custom or law of a settlement or district.
2. A rule made by a local authority to regulate its own affairs.
3. A law or rule governing the internal affairs of an organization (e.g., corporation or business).

Synonyms

by-law

house rules

articles of association

command

instruction

law

order

prescript

prescription

regulation

rule

standing orders

statute

arrangment

local code

adjustment

local code and regulation

arrangement

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbaɪ.lɔː/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: bylawe

Inherited from Old English: bīlage

Inherited from Middle English: byrelawe

Cognate with Danish: bylov

Cognate with Swedish: bylag

In summary

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.