A local law or regulation, especially one made by townspeople or a community for their own governance, common in medieval Scotland and Northern England.
From Old Norse 'by' (settlement, town) + 'law', reflecting Scandinavian influence on British law-making. It describes laws created locally rather than imposed from above.
Byrlaw is a fascinating window into how communities governed themselves before centralized governments—villages could literally make their own rules about everything from market hours to animal grazing, creating early democracy.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.