loi French · revision 17149

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 10th century, Passion de Clermont (lei)|origins=la lēx}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /lwa/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''loi''' ''f'' (plural lois)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''lei'' (about 980), ''loi'' (12th century); the Académie wrote ''loy'' in 1694 and 1718.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|lei]], [[inh|la|lēx|t=religious law; law; contract]], from its accusative “lēgem”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|5, 291b)^(Wiktionary) Rey explains that “lex” rested on the idea of an express agreement, unlike “jus” (formulated right) and “mos”, “consuetudo” (custom); church Latin used it for the law of Moses and of the Lord, and the word regained a religious sense that passed into Romance beside the legal one.^(DHLF 1992) An Italic word with counterparts in Indo-Iranian, it may belong to the root of [[m|la|legō|t=to gather; to read]] (see [[lire]]); Littré thought the origin obscure, noting that Latin etymologists linked it with [[m|la|ligō|t=to bind]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|lege]], [[it|legge]], [[pro|lei]], [[ca|llei]], [[es|ley]] and [[pt|lei]].^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the ''Passion'' of Clermont (end of the 10th century) ''comuna lei'' is a rule applying to all, in a religious context; the ''Vie de saint Léger'' (second half of the 10th century) has ''lei'' for the rule imposed by God, religion.^(TLFi) The ''Chanson de Roland'' has ''la lei de chrestiens'', the Christian faith.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Lei de terre'' (about 1120) is the law of a people issuing from a sovereign authority; a written act sanctioned by public force is in the ''Lois de Guillaume'' (about 1130), and an unwritten custom in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence (1174–76).^(TLFi) Cotgrave (1611) has ''homme de loi''.^(TLFi) Since the Reformation ''la loi'' also names the old law of Moses, after the language of the Bible.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Molière's ''lois de Vaugelas'' (1672) are the rules of grammar, and ''c'est la loi et les prophètes'' (Nicole, 1665) means an indisputable truth.^(TLFi)^(BHVF) The scientific sense, a constant relation between phenomena, is modern: ''lois de la nature'', ''loi de la pesanteur''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * late 10th century – ''Lei'', ''Passion''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1120 – ''Lei de terre''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1130 – A written law, ''Lois de Guillaume''.^(TLFi)

+ * 12th century – The form ''loi''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1611 – ''Homme de loi'', Cotgrave.^(TLFi)

+ * 1665 – ''La loi et les prophètes''.^(BHVF)

+ * 1672 – ''Les lois de Vaugelas'', Molière.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|law]], a rule made by the sovereign authority of a society: ''voter une loi'', ''projet de loi'', ''nul n'est censé ignorer la loi''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # The law, the body of laws: ''hors la loi'', ''homme de loi'', ''avoir force de loi''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # A rule of conduct, an obligation: ''les lois de l'honneur'', ''faire la loi'', to lay down the law.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Religious law: ''la loi de Moïse'', ''sans foi ni loi''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A scientific law, a constant relation between phenomena: ''loi de la gravitation''.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[légal]]

+ * [[législatif]]

+ * [[législation]]

+ * [[légitime]]

+ * [[loyal]]

+ * [[aloi]]

+ * [[la|lēx]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate ''loi'' (1611, ''lays'', 1273), a form of [[aloi]], is the legal standard of fineness of coins.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}