English
outlawry
Outlawry comes from Middle English outlawerie ‘Outlawing or exile’, from Old English lagu ‘law’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lie’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*legʰ-1‘to lie’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lagą1‘something laid’next step skipped: Old Norse lag
- Old Norsec. 800–1350lǫg1‘the things that are laid down, the laws’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150lagu2‘law’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150utlagu3
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500outlawerie3‘Outlawing or exile’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1649outlawry3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Old English lagu
- 2 Wiktionary, Old English utlagu
- 3 Wiktionary, English outlawry
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1649, John Milton: “Notwithstanding any disposition made or to be made ,…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*legʰ-Wiktionary, Old English lagu‘to lie’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lagąWiktionary, Old English lagu‘something laid’next step skipped: Old Norse lag
- Old Norsec. 800–1350lǫgWiktionary, Old English lagu‘the things that are laid down, the laws’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150laguWiktionary, Old English utlagu‘law’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150utlaguWiktionary, English outlawry
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500outlawerieWiktionary, English outlawry‘Outlawing or exile’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1649outlawryWiktionary, English outlawry. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1649, John Milton: “Notwithstanding any disposition made or to be made ,…”
Formed from utlagu + -aria
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lie’
low, college, legal, lie, fellow, legacy, loyal, layer, colleague, delegation, litter, delegate, lex, ledger, collegiate, ledge, lees, lair, legate, leaguer, lig, leal, collegium, lias, underlay, 20 more
through Proto-Germanic *lagą ‘something laid’
through Old Norse lǫg ‘the things that are laid down, the laws’
log, lawlessness, lagan, 2 more
through Old English lagu ‘law’
Today it means
noun A declaration that an individual cannot benefit from the protection of law in a jurisdiction.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “outlawry”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Old English lagu, Old English utlagu. 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- / outlawry