outlaw
English
Etymology
From Middle English outlawe, outlagh, utlaȝe, from Old English ūtlaga (“outlaw”), borrowed from Old Norse útlagi (“outlaw, fugitive”), equivalent to out- + law. Cognate with Icelandic útlagi (“outlaw”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈaʊt.lɔː/
- Rhymes: -aʊtlɔː
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈaʊt.lɔ/
- (cot–caught merger) IPA(key): /ˈaʊt.lɑ/
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈæɔt.loː/
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun
outlaw (plural outlaws)
- A fugitive from the law.
- (history) A criminal who is excluded from normal legal rights; one who can be killed at will without legal penalty.
- A person who operates outside established norms.
- The main character in the play was a bit of an outlaw who refused to shake hands or say thank you.
- A wild horse.
- (humorous) An in-law: a relative by marriage.
- (humorous) One who would be an in-law except that the marriage-like relationship is unofficial.
- (slang) A prostitute who works alone, without a pimp.
- 1977, Joseph Julian, Social Problems, page 463:
- Without a pimp, she was an "outlaw," likely to be harassed, or threatened with assault or robbery on the street.
- 2010, Lawrence Block, Eight Million Ways To Die:
- She was an outlaw. Chance is doing some double-checking to see if she had a pimp nobody knew about, but it doesn't look likely.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
- (criminal): See Thesaurus:criminal
- (prostitute): See Thesaurus:prostitute
Derived terms
Translations
a fugitive from the law
|
person without legal rights
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Verb
outlaw (third-person singular simple present outlaws, present participle outlawing, simple past and past participle outlawed)
- To declare illegal.
- To place a ban upon.
- To remove from legal jurisdiction or enforcement.
- to outlaw a debt or claim
- To deprive of legal force.
- a. 1662 (date written), Thomas Fuller, The History of the Worthies of England, London: […] J[ohn] G[rismond,] W[illiam] L[eybourne] and W[illiam] G[odbid], published 1662, →OCLC:
- our English common law was outlawed in those parts.
Translations
to declare illegal
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See also
Further reading
- “outlaw”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “outlaw”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “outlaw”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
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