Etymograph

English

lawlessly

Lawlessly comes from Middle English laweles ‘not following the law or discipline’, from lawe ‘a snide or pithy axiom or statement of a…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lie’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*legʰ-1‘to lie’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lagą1‘situation’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350lag1‘stratum, layer’
  4. Old Norsec. 800–1350lǫg1‘fate’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150lagu1‘law’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lawe1‘a snide or pithy axiom or statement of a general truth’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500laweles1‘not following the law or discipline’
  8. English1500–presentlawless1
  9. Englishtodaylawlessly1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English lawlessly

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*legʰ-Wiktionary, English lawlessly‘to lie’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lagąWiktionary, English lawlessly‘situation’reconstructed
  3. Old Norsec. 800–1350lagWiktionary, English lawlessly‘stratum, layer’
  4. Old Norsec. 800–1350lǫgWiktionary, English lawlessly‘fate’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150laguWiktionary, English lawlessly‘law’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500laweWiktionary, English lawlessly‘a snide or pithy axiom or statement of a general truth’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lawelesWiktionary, English lawlessly‘not following the law or discipline’
  8. English1500–presentlawlessWiktionary, English lawlessly
  9. EnglishtodaylawlesslyWiktionary, English lawlessly

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lie’

low, college, legal, lie, fellow, layer, loyal, legacy, colleague, delegation, litter, delegate, ledger, collegiate, lex, ledge, lair, lees, lig, legate, leaguer, leal, collegium, underlay, lias, 22 more

through Proto-Germanic *lagą ‘situation’

lay, 4 more

through Old Norse lǫg ‘fate’

log, lagan, 4 more

through Middle English lawe ‘a snide or pithy axiom or statement of a…’

law, lawyer, lawful, 4 more

Today it means

adv In a lawless manner.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “lawlessly”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- / lawlessly

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