lex
noun
law.
lex
1 American
[leks]
/ lɛks /
noun
-
leges
plural
lex.
2
American
abbreviation
-
lexical.
-
lexicon.
lex
British
/ lɛks /
noun
-
a system or body of laws
-
a particular specified law
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lex
First recorded in 1490–1500, lex is from the Latin word lēx
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He told AFP Babis most probably complied with the Czech conflict of interest law, dubbed "lex Babis".
From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026
But dura lex, sed lex — the law is hard, but it is the law — and the law in California forbade slavery.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2021
Salus populi suprema lex, he reminds us: public health must be the highest law.
From Nature ● Oct. 14, 2019
The classical root of “privilege,” privus lex, means “private law.”
From Washington Post ● Sep. 27, 2018
A foedus is a league, or compact, but it is often used as synonymous with lex, and Renaissance commentators on Lucretius interpreted him as talking about the laws of nature.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
There is an old Latin phrase, inter arma enim silent leges, which roughly translates as "in time of war, the Constitution is silent."
From Time ● Jun. 23, 2011
Tucked away in western Massachusetts are four of the better U.S. col leges: Smith, Mount Holyoke, Amherst and the University of Massachusetts.
From Time Magazine Archive
There will be special rates for col leges, etc.
From Time Magazine Archive
Besides, says Caltech's Dean of Admissions Winchester Jones, the system is "unfair to the candidate" because col leges would spurn second-choosers.
From Time Magazine Archive
Ad hæc omnia subtiliter disserenda, acute disputanda, graviter determinanda, quanta Philosophiæ, quanta Dialecticæ necessitas! quæ leges disputandi, quæ sophismatum strophæ detegendæ!
From Inspiration and Interpretation Seven Sermons Preached Before the University of Oxford by John William Burgon
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