A cord knotted by a lawmaker (5)
I believe the answer is:
draco
'a lawmaker' is the definition.
(Draco is an example)
'a cord knotted' is the wordplay.
'knotted' indicates an anagram.
'a'+'cord'='acord'
'acord' anagrammed gives 'DRACO'.
'by' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for draco that I've seen before include "Constellation, the Dragon" , "archon" , "Athenian statesman" , "seen among the stars" , "death-dealing lawman" .)