lawgiver

[ law-giv-er ]

noun

1. a person who promulgates a law or a code of laws.

lawgiver

/ ˈlɔːˌɡɪvə /

noun

1. the giver of a code of laws
2. Also calledlawmaker a maker of laws

Derived Forms

• ˈlawˌgiving, nounadjective

Other Words From

• lawgiving noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of lawgiver¹

1350–1400; Middle English lawe givere. See law ¹, giver ( def )

Example Sentences

“If you want to respect the rule of law, you’ve got to start from the original lawgiver, which was Moses,” Landry said at the bill signing ceremony in June.

From Salon

Trump, the lawgiver, the dispenser of rights, has made abundantly clear that, under a second Trump regime, we will have to fight to keep the civil liberties we regard as sacred.

From Salon

Land in and around Cal State Long Beach is the sacred ancestral home of the Tongvas’ divine founder and lawgiver, Chingishish, and ancient human remains have been discovered there over the years, occasioning ceremonial reburials.

From Los Angeles Times

I make the case in this introduction that this same matter of selective breeding, whether sexual selection, or various societies' management of marriage and reproduction, constitutes the most important part of morality, legislation, or of the "lawgiver's art," and that a sharp awareness of this reality is what led, again, to the discovery of the standard of nature and the subsequent birth of philosophy.

From Salon

The good people of the state of Missouri had been cowering for months in a state of panic, knowing that unless prompt, legislative action was taken on the very first day of the new session, some Missourian lawgiver might, without any warning, see a woman’s shoulder.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• administrator
• council member
• deputy
• lawmaker
• leader
• member
• parliamentarian
• representative
• senator