Definition of: legislation

(lej′is·lā′shən) noun
1. Enactment of laws, or business incidental thereto.
2. The laws enacted by a legislative power. [<LL legislatio, -onis <legis, genitive of lex a law + latio, -onis a bringing, proposing <latus, pp. to ferre bring] Synonyms: code, economy, jurisprudence, law, polity. A code is a system of laws; jurisprudence is the science of law, or a system of laws scientifically considered, classed, and interpreted; legislation, primarily the act of legislating, denotes also the body of statutes enacted by a legislative body; an economy is a body of laws and regulations, with the entire system, political or religious, especially the latter, of which they form a part; as, the code of Draco, Roman jurisprudence, British legislation, the Mosaic economy. The Mosaic economy is known also as the Mosaic law, and we speak of the English common law, or the law of nations. Polity differs from economy as applying to the system itself, while economy applies to the method of administration or to the system as administered. See LAW¹.