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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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Borrowed 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.
    • 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.
    legal profession
  2. Having its basis in the law.
    legal precedent
  3. Being established, permitted, required or prescribed by law.
    • 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.
    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.
    • 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. 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.
  7. (Canada, US, of paper or document layouts) Measuring 8½ in × 14 in.
  8. (Philippines, of paper or document layouts) Measuring 8½ in × 13 in.

Antonyms

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Coordinate terms

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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.
    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 terms

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Anagrams

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Catalan

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Etymology

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Borrowed 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

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Chavacano

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Etymology

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Inherited from Spanish legal.

Adjective

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legál

  1. legal

Danish

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Etymology

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Borrowed 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)
  2. legitimate (conforming to accepted rules)

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.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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  • (antonym(s) of “legal”): illegal

Galician

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Etymology

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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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Borrowed 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

Indonesian

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Etymology

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Borrowed 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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Borrowed from Latin lēgālis (“legal”), from lēx (“law”). Doublet of leal, inherited from the same source.

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

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[4]:
      “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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Borrowed 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
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