# bylaw

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbaɪ.lɔː/ · frequency rank #46,960

## Definitions
1. A local custom or law of a settlement or district.
2. A rule made by a local authority to regulate its own affairs.
3. A rule made by a local authority to regulate its own affairs.
4. A law or rule governing the internal affairs of an organization (e.g., corporation or business).

## Etymology
From Middle English bylawe, bilawe, partly from Old English bīlage (“bylaw”) and partly from a variant of Middle English byrelawe, birlawe, from Old Norse býjar (“town's; settlement's”) + lǫg (“laws; jurisdiction”). Byrlaw is attested earlier in English but is unattested in Old Norse and the cognates in Scandinavian languages follow the development of bylaw: Danish bylov (“municipal law”), Swedish bylag and byalag.

## Easily confused with
- **bla** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bla-vs-bylaw)
- **blow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blow-vs-bylaw)
- **blew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blew-vs-bylaw)
- **blah** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blah-vs-bylaw)
- **Bala** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bala-vs-bylaw)
- **bola** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bola-vs-bylaw)
- **below** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/below-vs-bylaw)
- **Bilal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bilal-vs-bylaw)

## Common misspellings (8)
`bbylaw`, `blyaw`, `byalw`, `bylaww`, `byllaw`, `bylwa`, `byylaw`, `yblaw`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bylaw