legal

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /liː.ɡəl/, SAMPA: /li:g.@l/
• Rhymes: -iːɡəl
• (US) IPA: /liɡəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

legal (comparative more legal, superlative most legal)

1. Relating to the law or to lawyers, as in legal profession.
2. Having its basis in the law, such as legal precedent.
3. Being allowed or prescribed by law, such as a legal motion.
4. (slang) Above the age of consent, most often concerning attractive but young adolescent girls.

Antonyms

• (allowed): banned, contraband, disallowed, forbidden, illegal, outlawed
• (concerning law): black-market, back-alley
• (over age of consent): underage

Derived terms

• legal beagle
• legal duty
• legal eagle
• legality
• legalese
• paralegal

Translations

relating to the law or to lawyers

Armenian: իրավական (hy) (iravakan) Chinese: Mandarin: 法律的 (zh) (fǎlǜ de) Czech: právní (cs) Dutch: juridisch (nl), rechts- (nl) Finnish: juridinen (fi), oikeudellinen (fi), laki- (fi), lakimies- (fi) German: juristisch (de), rechtlich (de) Greek: νομικός (el) Hebrew: משפטי (he) (mishpati) Italian: legale (it), giuridico (it) Japanese: 法的な (ja) (hōteki-na)

Latin: legalis (la), legitimus (la) Macedonian: правен (mk) (práven) m. Polish: prawniczy (pl), prawny (pl) Portuguese: legal (pt) Romanian: legal (ro) Russian: юридический (ru) (juridíčeskij), правовой (ru) (pravovój) Slovene: pravniški (sl) Spanish: legal (es) Swedish: rättsligt (sv) Turkish: hukuki (tr), adli (tr)

having its basis in the law

Armenian: իրավական (hy) (iravakan) Chinese: Mandarin: 法定的 (zh) (fǎdìng de) Dutch: juridisch (nl) Finnish: lainmukainen (fi), juridinen (fi) German: juristisch (de), rechtlich (de) Hebrew: משפטי (he) (mishpati) Hungarian: törvényes (hu) Italian: legale (it) Japanese: 法律の (ja) (hōritsu no)

Macedonian: законски (mk) (zákonski) m. Polish: prawniczy (pl), prawny (pl) Portuguese: legal (pt) Romanian: legal (ro), juridic (ro) Russian: правомерный (ru) (pravomérnyj) Slovene: praven (sl) Spanish: legal (es) Swedish: rättsligt (sv) Turkish: yasal (tr)

allowed or prescribed by law

Arabic: قانوني (ar) (qanūniy) Armenian: օրինական (hy) (òrinakan) Chinese: Mandarin: 合法的 (zh) (héfǎ de) Danish: lovlig (da) Dutch: wettelijk (nl), legaal (nl), wettig (nl), legitiem (nl) Finnish: laillinen (fi), lakisääteinen (fi) French: légal (fr) German: legal (de) Greek: νόμιμος (el) Hebrew: חוקי (he) ('huki) Hungarian: jogi (hu), törvényes (hu) Italian: legale (it)

Japanese: 合法 (ja) (gōhō), 法に則った (ja) (hō-ni-notto-tta) Korean: 합법적인 (ko) (hapbeopjeokin) Latin: legitimus (la) Macedonian: законски (mk) (zákonski) m. Polish: legalny (pl), prawny (pl) Portuguese: legal (pt) Romanian: legal (ro) Russian: законный (ru) (zakónnyj) Slovene: zakonit (sl) Spanish: legal (es) Swedish: laglig (sv) Turkish: yasal (tr), meşru (tr), kanuni (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Esperanto: laŭleĝa, legala Interlingua: legal (ia) Indonesian: hukum

Noun

legal (uncountable)

1. (US) Paper in sheets 8½ in × 14 in (215.9 mm × 355.6 mm).

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: winter · expect · nation · #964: legal · spread · enter · consider

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Danish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA: /leɡaːl/, [leˈɡ̊æːˀl]

Adjective

legal (neuter legalt, definite and plural legale)

1. legal (something which is allowed by law)
2. legitimate (conforming to accepted rules)

Synonyms

• (legal): lovlig
• (legitimate): legitim

Antonyms

• (legal): illegal

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German

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA: [leˈɡaːl]

Adjective

legal

1. legal

Antonyms

• illegal

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Portuguese

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA: /leˈɡaw/

Adjective

legal m. and f. (plural legais; comparable)

1. legal
2. (familiar) cool, nice (person)
3. (familiar) good (thing)

Antonyms

• (legal): ilegal
• (cool): chato

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Romanian

Etymology

From French légal.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /leˈɡal/

Adjective

legal ^{4 nom/acc forms}

1. legal, lawful

Declension

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

Synonyms

• licit

Antonyms

• ilegal
• ilicit

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Spanish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA: /leˈɡal/

Adjective

legal m. and f. (plural legales)

1. legal

Antonyms

• ilegal

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Swedish

Adjective

legal

1. legal

Declension

Declension of legal

Inflections of legal Comparation by mer and mest
Indefinite singular	Common	legal
	Neuter	legalt
Definite singular	Masc.	legale
	All	legala
Plural		legala

Related terms

• illegal
• legalitet
• legitim