legal
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin lēgālis (“legal”), from lēx (“law”). Doublet of loyal and leal.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈliː.ɡəl/
- Rhymes: -iːɡəl
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈliɡəl/
Audio (US) (file)
Adjective
legal (comparative more legal, superlative most legal)
- 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
-
- Having its basis in the law.
- legal precedent
- 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
-
- (informal) Above the age of consent or the legal drinking age.
Antonyms
- (allowed): banned, contraband, disallowed, forbidden, illegal, outlawed, unlawful
- (concerning law): black-market, back-alley
- (over age of consent): underage
Derived terms
Translations
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- 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 Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Noun
legal (countable and uncountable, plural legals)
- (uncountable, informal) The legal department of a company.
- Legal wants this in writing.
- (uncountable, US, Canada) Paper in sheets 8½ in × 14 in (215.9 mm × 355.6 mm).
- (countable) A spy who is attached to, and ostensibly employed by, an embassy, military outpost, etc.
Derived terms
Anagrams
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin lēgālis. Compare the inherited doublet lleial.
Pronunciation
Adjective
legal (masculine and feminine plural legals)
Antonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Danish
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /leɡaːl/, [leˈɡ̊æːˀl]
Adjective
legal
- legal (something that conforms to or is according to law)
- legitimate (conforming to accepted rules)
Inflection
| 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. | |||
Synonyms
Antonyms
- (legal): illegal
Galician
Etymology
Adjective
legal m, f (plural legais)
- legal (having its basis in the law)
Antonyms
Derived terms
See also
German
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [leːˈɡaːl]
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -aːl
Adjective
legal (not comparable)
Declension
| number & gender | singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
| 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 | |
Antonyms
Further reading
- legal in Duden online
Portuguese
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin lēgālis (“legal”), from lēx (“law”). Compare leal, an inherited doublet.
Pronunciation
Adjective
legal m, f (plural legais, comparable)
Quotations
For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:legal.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Romanian
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /leˈɡal/
Adjective
legal m, n (feminine singular legală, masculine plural legali, feminine and neuter plural legale)
Declension
Synonyms
Antonyms
- ilegal
- ilicit
Related terms
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin lēgālis, from lēx (“law”). Compare leal, an inherited doublet.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /leˈɡal/
Adjective
legal (plural legales)
Antonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Swedish
Etymology
Adjective
legal (not comparable)
Declension
| Inflection of legal | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Indefinite | Positive | Comparative | Superlative2 |
| Common singular | legal | — | — |
| Neuter singular | legalt | — | — |
| Plural | legala | — | — |
| 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. | |||