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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
By-law \By"-law'\ (b[imac]"-l[add]'), noun [Cf. Sw. bylag, D. bylov, Icel. b[=y]arl["o]g, fr. Sw. & Dan. by town, Icel. b[ae]r, byr (fr. b[^u]a to dwell) + the word for law; hence, a law for one town, a special law. Cf. {Birlaw} and see {Law}.]
1. A local or subordinate law; a private law or regulation made by a corporation for its own government.
There was likewise a law to restrain the by-laws, or ordinances of corporations. --Bacon.
The law or institution; to which are added two by-laws, as a comment upon the general law. --Addison.
2. A law that is less important than a general law or constitutional provision, and subsidiary to it; a rule relating to a matter of detail; as, civic societies often adopt a constitution and by-laws for the government of their members. In this sense the word has probably been influenced by by, meaning secondary or aside.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
bylaw
noun: a rule made by a local authority to regulate its own affairs [syn: {bye law}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
28 Moby Thesaurus words for "bylaw": act, bill, canon, decree, dictate, dictation, edict, enactment, form, formality, formula, formulary, institution, jus, law, legislation, lex, measure, ordinance, ordonnance, prescript, prescription, regulation, rubric, rule, ruling, standing order, statute
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