Law vs. Compulsory — What's the Difference?

Law is a system of rules created and enforced through social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and the art of justice.

Required by law or a rule; obligatory

A rule of conduct or procedure established by custom, agreement, or authority.

Obligatory; required

The body of rules and principles governing the affairs of a community and enforced by a political authority; a legal system

Employing or exerting compulsion; coercive.

The condition of social order and justice created by adherence to such a system

An element, such as a dive or school figure, required of all competitors in an athletic competition.

A set of rules or principles dealing with a specific area of a legal system

Required; obligatory; mandatory.

A statute, ordinance, or other rule enacted by a legislature.

Having the power of compulsion; constraining.

A judicially established legal requirement; a precedent.

Something that is compulsory or required.

The system of judicial administration giving effect to the laws of a community

Having the power of compulsion; constraining.

Legal action or proceedings; litigation

Obligatory; enjoined by authority; necessary; due to compulsion.

An impromptu or extralegal system of justice substituted for established judicial procedure

Required by rule;

An agency or agent responsible for enforcing the law. Often used with the

(Informal) A police officer. Often used with the.

The science and study of law; jurisprudence.

Knowledge of law.

The profession of an attorney.

Something, such as an order or a dictum, having absolute or unquestioned authority

A body of principles or precepts held to express the divine will, especially as revealed in the Bible.

The first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures.

A code of principles based on morality, conscience, or nature.

A rule or custom generally established in a particular domain

A way of life

A statement describing a relationship observed to be invariable between or among phenomena for all cases in which the specified conditions are met

A generalization based on consistent experience or results

(Mathematics) A general principle or rule that is assumed or that has been proven to hold between expressions.

A principle of organization, procedure, or technique

(usually with "the") The body of binding rules and regulations, customs, and standards established in a community by its legislative and judicial authorities.

The body of such rules that pertain to a particular topic.

Common law, as contrasted with equity.

A binding regulation or custom established in a community in this way.

(more generally) A rule, such as:

Any rule that must or should be obeyed, concerning behaviours and their consequences. mores.}}

A rule or principle regarding the construction of language or art.

A statement (in physics, etc) of an (observed, established) order or sequence or relationship of phenomena which is invariable under certain conditions. theory.}}

A statement (of relation) that is true under specified conditions; a mathematical or logical rule.

Any statement of the relation of acts and conditions to their consequences.

(linguistics) A sound law; a regular change in the pronunciation of a language.

(cricket) One of the official rules of cricket as codified by the its (former) governing body, the MCC.

The control and order brought about by the observance of such rules.

(informal) A person or group that act(s) with authority to uphold such rules and order (for example, one or more police officers).

The profession that deals with such rules (as lawyers, judges, police officers, etc).

Jurisprudence, the field of knowledge which encompasses these rules.

Litigation; legal action (as a means of maintaining or restoring order, redressing wrongs, etc).

An allowance of distance or time (a head start) given to a weaker (human or animal) competitor in a race, to make the race more fair.

(aviation) A mode of operation of the flight controls of a fly-by-wire aircraft.

(fantasy) One of two metaphysical forces ruling the world in some fantasy settings, also called order, and opposed to chaos.

An oath sworn before a court, especially disclaiming a debt. wager of law", "wage one's law", "perform one's law", "lose one's law".}}

(obsolete) A tumulus of stones.

A hill.

A score; share of expense; legal charge.

(obsolete) To work as a lawyer; to practice law.

To prosecute or sue (someone), to litigate.

(nonstandard) To rule over (with a certain effect) by law; to govern.

(informal) To enforce the law.

To subject to legal restrictions.

(dated) An exclamation of mild surprise; lawks.

In general, a rule of being or of conduct, established by an authority able to enforce its will; a controlling regulation; the mode or order according to which an agent or a power acts.

In morals: The will of God as the rule for the disposition and conduct of all responsible beings toward him and toward each other; a rule of living, conformable to righteousness; the rule of action as obligatory on the conscience or moral nature.

The Jewish or Mosaic code, and that part of Scripture where it is written, in distinction from the gospel; hence, also, the Old Testament.

An organic rule, as a constitution or charter, establishing and defining the conditions of the existence of a state or other organized community.

In philosophy and physics: A rule of being, operation, or change, so certain and constant that it is conceived of as imposed by the will of God or by some controlling authority; as, the law of gravitation; the laws of motion; the law heredity; the laws of thought; the laws of cause and effect; law of self-preservation.

In mathematics: The rule according to which anything, as the change of value of a variable, or the value of the terms of a series, proceeds; mode or order of sequence.

In arts, works, games, etc.: The rules of construction, or of procedure, conforming to the conditions of success; a principle, maxim; or usage; as, the laws of poetry, of architecture, of courtesy, or of whist.

Collectively, the whole body of rules relating to one subject, or emanating from one source; - including usually the writings pertaining to them, and judicial proceedings under them; as, divine law; English law; Roman law; the law of real property; insurance law.

Legal science; jurisprudence; the principles of equity; applied justice.

Trial by the laws of the land; judicial remedy; litigation; as, to go law.

An oath, as in the presence of a court.

An exclamation of mild surprise.

Legal document setting forth rules governing a particular kind of activity;

The collection of rules imposed by authority;

A generalization that describes recurring facts or events in nature;

A rule or body of rules of conduct inherent in human nature and essential to or binding upon human society

The learned profession that is mastered by graduate study in a law school and that is responsible for the judicial system;

The force of policemen and officers;

The branch of philosophy concerned with the law and the principles that lead courts to make the decisions they do