Nomoi

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A set of laws or customs that govern a society's practices and behaviors
2. A system of rules that form the foundation of a community's legal and ethical standards
3. The principles that guide moral conduct and societal order among individuals and groups

Etymology: Nomoi is simply the plural of "nomos," and the surprise lies in the original sense of the root. In ancient Greek, "nomos" could mean a district, a division of land, the sense that comes from the verb "nemo," "to divide" or "to distribute." A nomos was a portion assigned to someone, and the idea of a shared, apportioned order gradually grew into the notion of custom and then law. The same stem gave English "nome," a term for an administrative district, which is a doublet of the same Greek source. Over centuries, "nomos" came to mean a law or established usage that held a community together, which is why the plural now refers to binding community rules. The Greek sense of allotment carries a quiet trace of the idea that law divides and allocates what each member of a society is owed.

Synonyms: laws, legislation, statutes, regulations

Antonyms: anarchy, lawlessness