blue laws

blue laws
blue laws 1781, severe Puritanical code said to have been enacted 18c. in New Haven, Connecticut; of uncertain origin, perhaps from one of the ground senses behind blues, or from notion of coldness. Or perhaps connected to bluestocking in the sense of "puritanically plain or mean" (see BLUESTOCKING (Cf. bluestocking), which is a different application of the same term; the parliament of 1653 was derisively called the bluestocking parliament). The common explanation that they were written on blue paper is not considered valid; pale blue paper was used for many old U.S. legal documents and there would have been nothing notable about its use in this case.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Blue laws — Blue Blue (bl[=u]), a. [Compar. {Bluer} (bl[=u] [ e]r); superl. {Bluest}.] [OE. bla, blo, blew, blue, livid, black, fr. Icel.bl[=a]r livid; akin to Dan. blaa blue, Sw. bl[*a], D. blauw, OHG. bl[=a]o, G. blau; but influenced in form by F. bleu,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • blue laws — n. Laws regulating or prohibiting certain otherwise legal activities, especially commercial activities, either on Sunday or all the time for essentially a religious reason. For example, an ordinance prohibiting the operation on Sunday of a dance… …   Law dictionary

  • blue laws — ➔ law * * * blue laws UK US noun [plural] LAW ► laws that exist in some US states that prevent stores from opening on Sunday, or from opening before a particular time: »Anderson County chose to suspend blue laws for December …   Financial and business terms

  • Blue Laws — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Les Blue laws sont la première législation écrite des îles Cook. Les Blue laws désignent aux États Unis et au Canada un ensemble de lois abrogées au cours …   Wikipédia en Français

  • blue laws — plural noun (US hist) Puritanical 18c laws in Connecticut • • • Main Entry: ↑blue …   Useful english dictionary

  • Blue laws — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Les Blue laws sont la première législation écrite des îles Cook. Les Blue laws désignent aux États Unis et au Canada un ensemble de lois abrogées au cours …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Blue Laws (Connecticut) — The Blue Laws of the Colony of Connecticut, as distinct from the generic term blue law that refers to any laws regulating activities on Sunday, were the initial statutes set up by the Gov. Theophilus Eaton with the assistance of the Rev. John… …   Wikipedia

  • Blue laws (États-Unis et Canada) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Blue laws. Les Blue laws désignent aux États Unis et au Canada un ensemble de lois sociales abrogées pour la plupart au cours du XXe siècle qui avaient été instituées pour garantir la morale publique et le… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Blue laws (Îles Cook) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Blue laws. Les blue laws ( lois bleues en français)[1] sont la première législation écrite des îles Cook. Inspirées du Code des Lois de Raiatea[2], elles furent mises en place dès 1827 par les missionnaires de la …   Wikipédia en Français

  • blue laws — n. puritanical laws, local or government laws that forbid commercial activities on Sundays …   English contemporary dictionary

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