Skip to main content
Doctor of Laws

Doctor of Laws

7.0
A university degree given after study or to honour someone for important work in law
  • noun
  • /ˈdɒktər əv lɔːz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Doctor en Derecho
  • Martin Baron, Doctor of Laws How do we manage the boundaries between work and family?
  • an honorary Doctor of Laws
  • Doctor of Laws degree

Examples

  • In the spring of 1938, Leta returned to Nebraska to receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Nebraska.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Other notable awards: Order of Ontario (1996), Order of Canada (2003), renaming of the North York Centennial Centre to the Herbert Carnegie Centennial Centre (2005), received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from York University (2006).

    Blog text (28)
  • He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Mississippi College.

    Blog text (19)
  • He also holds an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree from Mercer University.

    Academic text (2009)
  • I remain, respected sir, your admiring servant, Klaus Kohlber-Weiner (Doctor of Laws).

    Fiction book (2000)
  • He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Mississippi College for his contributions to legal reform.

  • A renowned author, she received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from her alma mater for her exceptional work in advocating for justice.

  • At the graduation ceremony, the university conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws degree on the distinguished human rights activist.

Synonyms

LLD
vsDoctor of Laws
  • Formal
1 9.4

An honorary law degree a university gives to honor someone

is a broader category including academic awards and noting outstanding achievements

How Advanced

Doctor of Laws
  • Specialized
7.0
certificate
307 2.7

Surface Forms

Morphology

doctor + of + law

The phrase combines 'doctor' (a holder of a doctorate) + 'of' + 'law(s)', so a learner who knows the constituent words can infer it denotes a doctoral degree in the field of law. The 'Doctor of X' academic construction is common across languages and follows a predictable compositional pattern, making the meaning transparent despite its formal register.

Etymology

Doctor of Laws comes from old universities where the best teachers of law were called Doctor, a word for 'teacher', and they taught the many Laws students studied. So the name became a high academic or honorary 'degree' given to people for their work in law.