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Added 3 October 2026

bylaw

/ˈbaɪ.lɔː/ noun

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about bylaw at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A local custom or law of a settlement or district.
A rule made by a local authority to regulate its own affairs.
A numbered provision within such kind of legislation.

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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