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legal

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Legal, legał, legâl, and légal

English

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Etymology

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    Learned borrowing from Latin lēgālis (“legal”), from lēx (“law”). Doublet of loyal and leal.

    Pronunciation

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    Adjective

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    legal (comparative more legal, superlative most legal)

    1. Relating to the law or to lawyers.
      Coordinate term: equitable
      legal profession
      • 2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist‎[1], volume 407, number 8839, archived from the original on 19 September 2020, page 55:
        According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle.
    2. Having its basis in the law.
      legal precedent
    3. Being established, permitted, required or prescribed by law.
      Synonyms: lawful, legitimate, licit; see also Thesaurus:lawful
      Antonyms: banned, contraband, disallowed, forbidden, illegal, outlawed, unlawful; black-market, back-alley
      legal motion
      • 1992 December 17, Michael Granberry, “Vanishing Act: Animals: A world without the homely rhino? […]”, in Los Angeles Times‎[2], Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 20 July 2025:
        In South Africa, it’s still legal to “trophy hunt” the white rhino, which [Anna] Merz and others find reprehensible.
      • 2013 August 23, “Waking life”, in The Economist‎[3], volume 408, number 8850, archived from the original on 10 March 2023:
        After 50 years, legal segregation is a distant memory, and race in America is not the unbridgeable chasm it once was. The country has a black president. The sort of comity that King evoked, in which the descendants of slaves and of slave owners “sit down together at the table of brotherhood”, can be found in many places, including the Deep South. The rate of marriage between blacks and whites is rising.
    4. Following the rules or syntax of a system, such as a game or a programming language.
      If you have no legal move, but are not in check the game is a draw.
      • 2021, John V. Guttag, Introduction to Computation and Programming Using Python, Third Edition, page 7:
        Programming languages are designed so that each legal program has exactly one meaning
    5. (slang, sometimes offensive) Above the age of consent or the legal drinking age.
      Antonym: underage
      • 2012 September 18, Sandra Brown, Low Pressure, Grand Central Publishing, →ISBN:
        "Is she even legal? Shame on you, diddlin' a girl too young to buy beer. You being a church deacon and all." If looks could kill, Dale would be dead.
      • 2024 April 18, Ayin Quijano, Bottoms Up, Boracay (Season 2 Amihan), Ayin Quijano:
        "Is she even legal? She looks like a minor." Elias whispers back, "Of course. I checked her passport. She's 20. What do you take me for? Be nice. I like her." I immediately smile at the girl behind Elias, […]
    6. (colloquial, chiefly US) Permitting the use and/or sale of cannabis; in which cannabis is lawful.
      • 2016 January 30, Jasper Stohner, 101 Money Making Methods in the Marijuana Madness Movement of 2016, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 45:
        Whether you're interested in opening a retail marijuana store in a legal state or if you're interested in investing in someone or a company, which is operating in a legal state, there are […]
      • 2019 September 13, Tracy Ferrell, Migrating for Medical Marijuana: Pioneers in a New Frontier of Treatment, McFarland, →ISBN, page 160:
        [Because] marijuana is still a federally illegal drug, using the drug in a child's presence, even in a legal state, could thus be construed as child abuse.

    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Noun

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    legal (countable and uncountable, plural legals)

    1. (uncountable, informal) The legal department of a company or organization.
      Legal wants this in writing.
    2. (countable) A spy who is attached to, and ostensibly employed by, an embassy, military outpost, etc.
    3. (countable, informal, US) One who immigrated lawfully.
      Antonyms: illegal, undocumented
    4. (uncountable, Canada, US) Of paper or document layouts, measuring 8+1⁄2 × 14 inches (216 × 356 mm).
    6. (Philippines) Of paper or document layouts, measuring 8+1⁄2 × 13 inches (216 × 330 mm).
      Synonyms: long bond paper, government legal, foolscap (UK)

    Derived terms

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    Anagrams

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    Catalan

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    Etymology

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    Learned borrowing from Latin lēgālis. Compare the inherited doublet lleial.

    Pronunciation

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    Adjective

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    legal m or f (masculine and feminine plural legals)

    1. legal
      Antonym: il·legal

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    Further reading

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    Chavacano

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    Etymology

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    Inherited from Spanish legal.

    Pronunciation

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    IPA(key): /leˈɡal/ [le.ˈɡal]

    • Hyphenation: le‧gal

    Adjective

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    legál

    1. legal

    Danish

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    Etymology

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    Learned borrowing from Latin lēgālis (“legal”), from lēx (“law”).

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /leɡaːl/, [leˈɡ̊æːˀl]

    Adjective

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    legal

    1. legal (something that conforms to or is according to law)
      Synonym: lovlig
      Antonym: illegal
    2. legitimate (conforming to accepted rules)
      Synonym: legitim

    Inflection

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    Inflection of legal
    positive comparative superlative
    indefinite common singular legal — —2
    indefinite neuter singular legalt — —2
    plural legale — —2
    definite attributive1 legale — —

    1 When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite,
    the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
    2 The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

    Galician

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    Etymology

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    Etymology tree
    Proto-Indo-European *leǵ-der.?
    Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-der.?
    Proto-Italic *lēks
    Latin lex
    Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.?
    Proto-Italic *-ālis
    Latin -ālis
    Latin lēgālislbor.
    Galician legal

      Learned borrowing from Latin lēgālis. Compare leal.

      Pronunciation

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      • IPA(key): (standard) /leˈɡal/ [leˈɣ̞ɑɫ]
      • IPA(key): (gheada) /leˈħal/ [leˈħɑɫ]

      • Rhymes: -al
      • Hyphenation: le‧gal

      Adjective

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      legal m or f (plural legais)

      1. legal (having its basis in the law)
        Antonym: ilegal

      Derived terms

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      See also

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      German

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      Etymology

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      Learned borrowing from Latin lēgālis (“legal”), from lēx (“law”).

      Pronunciation

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      Adjective

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      legal (strong nominative masculine singular legaler, not comparable)

      1. legal
        Antonym: illegal

      Declension

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      Positive forms of legal (uncomparable)
      number & gender singular plural
      masculine feminine neuter
      predicative er ist legal sie ist legal es ist legal sie sind legal
      strong declension
      (without article)       		nominative legaler legale legales legale
      genitive legalen legaler legalen legaler
      dative legalem legaler legalem legalen
      accusative legalen legale legales legale
      weak declension
      (with definite article)       		nominative der legale die legale das legale die legalen
      genitive des legalen der legalen des legalen der legalen
      dative dem legalen der legalen dem legalen den legalen
      accusative den legalen die legale das legale die legalen
      mixed declension
      (with indefinite article)       		nominative ein legaler eine legale ein legales (keine) legalen
      genitive eines legalen einer legalen eines legalen (keiner) legalen
      dative einem legalen einer legalen einem legalen (keinen) legalen
      accusative einen legalen eine legale ein legales (keine) legalen

      Further reading

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      • “legal” in Duden online
      • “legal”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎[4] (in German)

      Indonesian

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      Etymology

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      Learned borrowing from Dutch legaal (“legal”), from French légal, from Latin lēgālis. Doublet of loyal.

      Pronunciation

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      Adjective

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      legal (comparative lebih legal, superlative paling legal)

      1. legal, allowed or prescribed by law

      Derived terms

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      Further reading

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      Portuguese

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      Etymology

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      Learned borrowing from Latin lēgālis (“legal”), from lēx (“law”). Doublet of leal.

      Pronunciation

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      • (Portugal) IPA(key): /lɨˈɡal/ [lɨˈɣaɫ]
        • (Southern Portugal) IPA(key): /lɨˈɡa.li/ [lɨˈɣa.li]

      Adjective

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      legal m or f (plural legais, comparable, comparative mais legal, superlative o mais legal or legalíssimo, diminutive legalzinho, augmentative legalzão)

      1. legal
        Synonym: lícito
        Antonym: ilegal
      2. (Brazil, colloquial) cool, nice, good
        Synonym: (Portugal) fixe
        Antonym: chato
        • 2015, Carlos Maltz, O último rei do rock, Belas-Letras, →ISBN, page 157:
          Hoje em dia pegam um mané qualquer que seja bonitinho, colocam nele um nome qualquer de qualquer artista do passado que ninguém mais se lembra quem é, um nome que tenha uma sonoridade legal, tipo Tony Curtis (o original era Curtis), tascam um repertório popinho estudado minuciosamente em função das preferências de um determinado público em cima do cara, faturam bilhões e depois de uns cinco ou seis anos sucateiam o mané que já tá podre de rico, inchado de tanta bomba e droga, e arrumam outro.
          (please add an English translation of this quotation)

      Derived terms

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      Further reading

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      Romanian

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      Etymology

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      Borrowed from French légal, Latin legalis. By surface analysis, lege +‎ -al. Doublet of loial.

      Pronunciation

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      Adjective

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      legal m or n (feminine singular legală, masculine plural legali, feminine/neuter plural legale)

      1. legal, lawful
        Synonym: licit
        Antonyms: ilegal, ilicit

      Declension

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      Declension of legal
      singular plural
      masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
      nominative-
      accusative       		indefinite legal legală legali legale
      definite legalul legala legalii legalele
      genitive-
      dative       		indefinite legal legale legali legale
      definite legalului legalei legalilor legalelor
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      Spanish

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      Etymology

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      Learned borrowing from Latin lēgālis, from lēx (“law”). Doublet of leal.

      Pronunciation

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      Adjective

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      legal m or f (masculine and feminine plural legales)

      1. legal
        Antonym: ilegal
        • 2025 July 23, Priscilla Alvarez, “El Gobierno de Trump toma medidas para acelerar la deportación de menores migrantes y les ofrece opción de "autodeportarse"”, in CNN en Español‎[5]:
          “Esta es una práctica de larga data que usaron administraciones anteriores para priorizar el regreso de los niños a la seguridad de un padre o tutor legal en su país de origen. […] CNN reportó previamente que niños migrantes estaban regresando a la custodia del gobierno debido a acciones contra sus llamados patrocinadores, que los servicios legales ofrecidos a los menores se recortaron y que los niños estaban siendo puestos en calendarios judiciales acelerados para agilizar las deportaciones.
          (please add an English translation of this quotation)
      2. statutory
        Synonyms: estatutario, reglamentario
      3. lawful
      4. (colloquial) legit
        Synonym: legítimo

      Derived terms

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      Further reading

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      Swedish

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      Etymology

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      Learned borrowing from Latin legalis.

      Adjective

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      legal (not comparable)

      1. legal

      Declension

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      Inflection of legal
      Indefinite positive comparative superlative1
      common singular legal — —
      neuter singular legalt — —
      plural legala — —
      masculine plural2 legale — —
      Definite positive comparative superlative
      masculine singular3 legale — —
      all legala — —

      1 The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
      2 Dated or archaic.
      3 Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

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      Tagalog

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      Alternative forms

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      Etymology

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      Borrowed from Spanish legal, from Latin lēgālis. Doublet of leal.

      Pronunciation

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      Adjective

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      legál (Baybayin spelling ᜎᜒᜄᜎ᜔)

      1. legal
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      Further reading

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      Turkish

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      Etymology

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      Borrowed from French légal, from Latin lēgālis.

      Pronunciation

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      Adjective

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      legal

      1. legal (being allowed or prescribed by law)
        Synonym: yasal
        Antonyms: illegal, yasa dışı
      Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=legal&oldid=91560526"