Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A body of laws or principles guiding human conduct established by human authority, often contrasted with natural law.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun law Law explicitly made, as compared to natural law, prescribed by express enactment or institution.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From positive, explicitly laid down, established by human authority.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

1651: From Thomas Hobbes, The Leviathan

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