Where Did the Word "Law" Come From?
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| Joseph |
What do eggs and lawyers have in common besides cracking under the shattering load put on them? As it turns out, the words “egg” and “law” were both borrowed from… Old Norse. Though you may not know it, rich and often twisting sagas live in the many words you use daily. In a short time, we will see how the word “law” is an outstanding case of this.
Let's start at the beginning, shall we? The oldest forefather of the word "law" that we have found is the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root "legh," meaning "to lie down or lay." – You may think, "Hey! That's like my kid sister's name 'Ash-leigh!", but you are wrong. That one comes from the PIE root "lauhaz." – Though we have not heard or read PIE, we believe it is roughly what was spoken by the forbears of many in the world, including those in the British Islands.
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| By Jack Lynch |
In Proto-Germanic (a "daughter" of PIE), the word became "lagam" and found another meaning, "to put," which can still be found in Germanic tongues today. For example, take the Norwegian word "legge," meaning "to lay"; one could say, "I am going to 'legge' down," or they could say, "Honeeeeey, where did you 'legge' the keys?" This new use was key to the word coming to mean law.
As Proto-Germanic was shaped into many new "daughter tongues," it brought with it the word "lagam." In Old Norse, the word became "lagu". The real meaning of "lagu" was "something laid or put down," but it could also mean "a layer or stroke." In time, it became a saying roughly meaning "set in stone," much like in English when someone says they "put down their foot." This was the first time the word began to mean anything like what we know today.
As I said before, Old English borrowed the word "lagu" from Old Norse, and with it, the meaning of "set in stone." They further strengthened its meaning to "a law laid down by a king" or even sometimes "a right." This borrowed word soon became the main one used to mean "a law," which is startling given that there were already many Old English words with meanings that were very much alike. At the time, the words "ae" and "gesetnes" were common, but because of the great use of "lagu," there are no longer any words stemming from them. Such widespread use of this borrowed word instead of one from Old English is uncommon, to say the least.
Nonetheless, after many years and sound shifts, the Old English word "lagu" at last became the Middle English word "law." To this day, it has kept both its spelling and meaning.
There are thousands of words with roots like this. Though many think of English as being birthed by Latin and steered by Old French, English is truthfully a Germanic language, which is why many of the most used words, such as "law," come from Germanic roots. Don't believe me? Then I'll leave you with a "game" to see if I am right:
Reread this and find one non-Germanic word. (Hint: you won't.)
Good luck.
P.S. Want to learn about the word "law" but don't have much time? Then watch this:
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