bylaw : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: bylaw	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for bylaw
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
bylaw n a rule adopted by an organization in order to regulate its own affairs and the behavior of its members
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
By-law \By"-law`\ (b[imac]"-l[add]`), n. [Cf. Sw. bylag, D. bylov, Icel. b[ymac]arl[94]g, fr. Sw. & Dan. by town, Icel. b[91]r, byr (fr. b[96]a to dwell) + the word for law; hence, a law for one town, a special law. Cf. {Birlaw} and see {Law}.] 1. A local or subordinate law; a private law or regulation made by a corporation for its own government. There was likewise a law to restrain the by-laws, or ordinances of corporations. --Bacon. The law or institution; to which are added two by-laws, as a comment upon the general law. --Addison. 2. A law that is less important than a general law or constitutional provision, and subsidiary to it; a rule relating to a matter of detail; as, civic societies often adopt a constitution and by-laws for the government of their members. In this sense the word has probably been influenced by by, meaning secondary or aside.