outlaw

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See also: Outlaw and -out-law

English

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Robin Hood, an outlaw in English folklore.
A wanted poster for Jesse James, an American outlaw.

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

Noun

outlaw (plural outlaws)

  2. A fugitive from the law.
    • 1956, C. S. Lewis, chapter 5, in The Last Battle, Collins, published 1998:
      “I am going to a certain tower, one of three that were built in my grandsire’s time to guard Lantern Waste against certain perilous outlaws who dwelled there in his day. […] "
  4. (history) A criminal who is excluded from normal legal rights; one who can be killed at will without legal penalty.
  6. 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.
  8. A wild horse.
  9. (humorous) An in-law: a relative by marriage.
  10. (humorous) One who would be an in-law except that the marriage-like relationship is unofficial.
  12. (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.

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Translations

Verb

outlaw (third-person singular simple present outlaws, present participle outlawing, simple past and past participle outlawed)

  1. (transitive) To declare illegal.
  2. (transitive) To place a ban upon.
    • 2016 August 15, “'Zombie knives' ban to come into force”, in BBC News‎:
      The legal change in England and Wales will outlaw selling, manufacturing, renting or importing zombie knives.
    • 2022 June 5, Michael Fanone, “Opinion: Here’s the reason people tell me they want to buy an AR-15. And it’s simply ludicrous”, in CNN‎:
      And outlawing these AR-15s would not require confiscating them from people who already have them. Once you’ve made these weapons illegal, anyone found with one would be subject to arrest, since possession of these weapons would be a crime. I think it’s likely that you would see a lot of people opting to turn them in.
  3. (transitive) To make or declare (a person) an outlaw.
    • 1880, John Sephton, transl., The Saga of Erik the Red:
      Eirik and his people were outlawed at Thorsnes Thing.
  4. (transitive) To remove from legal jurisdiction or enforcement.
    to outlaw a debt or claim
  5. To deprive of legal force.
    • a. 1662 (date written), Thomas Fuller, The History of the Worthies of England, London: J G W L and W G, published 1662, →OCLC:
      our English common law was outlawed in those parts.

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See also

Further reading

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