Etymology

lawman

L1A1W4M3A1N1

Today it means: A lawspeaker: a declarer of the law. Full definition →

Middle English laweman ← Old English lahmann ← Old Norse lǫgmaðr
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Old Norse · derived fromlǫgmaðr
  2. Old English · derived fromlahmann
  3. Middle English · inherited fromlaweman
  4. English todaylawman

From Middle English laweman, laȝaman (as a man's name, Laȝamon, Layamon), from Old English lahmann, borrowed from Old Norse lǫgmaðr. In present use as a law-enforcement officer, law + -man.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.