Other forms: outlaws, outlawed, outlawing
An outlaw is somebody living outside the protection of the law. A famous outlaw, declared an outlaw, outlaw gangs.
The literal meaning was exact and terrible: an outlawed person could be killed by anybody without consequence, because the law no longer covered them. As a verb it now means to ban — outlaw the practice. The word came from Old Norse.
1nounoutlawSomebody living outside the protection of the law.
“Robin Hood was a legendary outlaw who lived in Sherwood Forest.”
2verbbanTo ban something.
“The city outlawed smoking in all bars and restaurants.”
outlaw is a person outside the law.
Old Norse utlagi means one outside the law. An outlawed person lost the law's protection entirely.
Old Norse
útlagi — outlaw, fugitive
Old English
ūtlaga — outlaw
Middle English
outlawe
English, today
outlaw
From Middle English outlawe, outlagh, utlaȝe, from Old English ūtlaga (“outlaw”), borrowed from Old Norse útlagi (“outlaw, fugitive”), equivalent to out- + law. Cognate with Icelandic útlagi (“outlaw”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA