Wiktionary

legal

See also: Legal, legał, legâl, and légal

EnglishEdit

EtymologyEdit

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

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

legal (comparative more legal, superlative most legal)

  1. Relating to the law or to lawyers.
    • 2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, 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.
    legal profession
  2. Having its basis in the law.
    legal precedent
  3. Being allowed or prescribed by law.
    • 2013 August 23, “Waking life”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8850:
      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.
    legal motion
  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. (informal) Above the age of consent or the legal drinking age.
  6. (US, Canada) (of paper or document layouts) Measuring 8½ in × 14 in (215.9 mm × 355.6 mm) (also legal-size).

AntonymsEdit

Derived termsEdit

Derived terms

TranslationsEdit

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

NounEdit

legal (countable and uncountable, plural legals)

  1. (uncountable, informal) The legal department of a company.
    Legal wants this in writing.
  2. (uncountable, US, Canada) Paper in sheets 8½ in × 14 in (215.9 mm × 355.6 mm).
  3. (countable) A spy who is attached to, and ostensibly employed by, an embassy, military outpost, etc.
  4. (countable, informal, US) Somebody who immigrated lawfully.
    Antonyms: illegal, undocumented

Derived termsEdit

AnagramsEdit

CatalanEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from Latin lēgālis. Compare the inherited doublet lleial.

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

legal (masculine and feminine plural legals)

  1. legal
    Antonym: il·legal

Derived termsEdit

Related termsEdit

Further readingEdit

ChavacanoEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Spanish legal.

AdjectiveEdit

legál

  1. legal

DanishEdit

EtymologyEdit

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

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /leɡaːl/, [leˈɡ̊æːˀl]

AdjectiveEdit

legal

  1. legal (something that conforms to or is according to law)
  2. legitimate (conforming to accepted rules)

InflectionEdit

Inflection of legal
Positive Comparative Superlative
Common singular legal — —2
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.

SynonymsEdit

AntonymsEdit

GalicianEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from Latin lēgālis. Compare leal.

AdjectiveEdit

legal m or f (plural legais)

  1. legal (having its basis in the law)

AntonymsEdit

Derived termsEdit

See alsoEdit

GermanEdit

EtymologyEdit

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

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

legal (strong nominative masculine singular legaler, not comparable)

  1. legal
    Antonym: illegal

DeclensionEdit

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 readingEdit

  • “legal” in Duden online
  • “legal” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

IndonesianEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Dutch legaal (“legal”), from French légal, from Latin lēgālis.

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): [ˈlɛɡal]
  • Hyphenation: lè‧gal

AdjectiveEdit

legal

  1. legal, allowed or prescribed by law.

Derived termsEdit

Related termsEdit

Further readingEdit

PortugueseEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from Latin lēgālis (“legal”), from lēx (“law”). Compare leal, an inherited doublet.

PronunciationEdit

  • Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
  • Hyphenation: le‧gal

AdjectiveEdit

legal m or f (plural legais)

  1. legal
    Antonym: ilegal
  2. (Brazil, familiar) cool, nice, good
    Antonym: chato

QuotationsEdit

For quotations using this term, see Citations:legal.

SynonymsEdit

Derived termsEdit

Related termsEdit

RomanianEdit

EtymologyEdit

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

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

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

  1. legal, lawful

DeclensionEdit

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

SynonymsEdit

AntonymsEdit

Related termsEdit

SpanishEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from Latin lēgālis, from lēx (“law”). Compare leal, an inherited doublet.

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /leˈɡal/ [leˈɣ̞al]
  • Audio (Colombia)(file)
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Syllabification: le‧gal

AdjectiveEdit

legal (plural legales)

  1. legal, statutory
    Antonym: ilegal
  2. lawful
  3. (colloquial) legit

Derived termsEdit

Related termsEdit

Further readingEdit

SwedishEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from Latin legalis.

AdjectiveEdit

legal (not comparable)

  1. legal

DeclensionEdit

Inflection of legal
Indefinite Positive Comparative Superlative2
Common singular legal — —
Neuter singular legalt — —
Plural legala — —
Masculine plural3 legale — —
Definite Positive Comparative Superlative
Masculine singular1 legale — —
All legala — —
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
3) Dated or archaic

Related termsEdit

TagalogEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from Spanish legal.

PronunciationEdit

  • Hyphenation: le‧gal
  • IPA(key): /leˈɡal/, [leˈɣal]

AdjectiveEdit

legál

  1. legal

Related termsEdit

TurkishEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from French légal, from Latin lēgālis.

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

legal

  1. legal (being allowed or prescribed by law)
    Antonyms: illegal, yasa dışı
    Synonym: yasal
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