In Sukhothai inscriptions (1292-1536) and Traipham Phra
Ruang (1345), the Thai word, thamnza, adopted from Skt. dharma
is used to mean 'the teachings of the Buddha', 'Buddhist
principles', whereas in the Law of the Three Seals (1805) the term
came to mean, in addition to its traditional, religious connotations,
'righteousness in accordance with Phra Thammasat ,' the first
book of the Corpus of 1805 or a Buddhistized dharmaiastra.
The innovation becomes clearer when the word is combined with
yutti to make yuttitham which, in modern context, means 'justice'.
The paper proposes to see this semantic change as a reflection of
metamorphosis in the concept of law of the traditional Siam.