Lawman
name, noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A lawspeaker: a declarer of the law. historical
- 2 a male officer of the law wordnet
- 3 One of 12 magistrates in certain Danish boroughs of England empowered with soc and sac over their own households. historical
- 4 The presiding justice of the supreme court. Orkney, Shetland
"From the twelfth century Shetland had been administered directly by the Norwegian crown through the 'foud', rather than forming part of the patrimony of a great aristocratic estate. The foud appointed 'underfouds' and the Shetlands evolved their own elected officers, a 'lawman' and parish 'lawrightmen', who adjudicated and negotiated the collection of customary taxes and fines on behalf of the local population."
- 5 A man of the law: a lawyer. rare
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- 6 An officer of the law: a law-enforcement officer. informal
""Fill your hand, you sonuvabitch," the old lawman cries, clamping the reins of his horse between his teeth and filling his own hands with six-gun and repeater."
- 1 A surname.
Example
More examples"In the nineteen twenties, during the Prohibition era, the United States banned alcohol. Poplar Island was used to produce it illegally. But this did not last. A local lawman poured the alcohol into the bay."
Etymology
From Middle English laweman, laȝaman (as a man's name, Laȝamon, Layamon), from Old English lahmann, borrowed from Old Norse lǫgmaðr. In present use as a law-enforcement officer, law + -man.
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.