Etymology

outlawry

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Today it means: A declaration that an individual cannot benefit from the protection of law in a jurisdiction. Full definition →

First used 14th c.Middle English outlawerie ← Anglo-Norman utlagarie /utlarie ← Medieval Latin utlagaria
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The story

  1. Medieval Latin · derived fromutlagaria
  2. Anglo-Norman · derived fromutlagarie /utlarie
  3. Middle English · inherited fromoutlawerie
  4. English todayoutlawry

Inherited from Middle English outlawerie (equivalent to outlawe + -erie), after Anglo-Norman utlagarie /utlarie and Medieval Latin utlagaria, both from Old English utlagu + Latin -aria (suffix that forms abstract nouns from other nouns). By surface analysis, outlaw + -ry.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 14th c. A declaration that an individual cannot benefit from the protection of law in a jurisdiction.
  • from 19th c. The state of being an outlaw; lawlessness.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.