legal

[ lee-guhl ]
/ ˈli gəl /

adjective

noun

Origin of legal

1490–1500; < Latin lēgālis of the law, equivalent to lēg- (stem of lēx) law + -ālis -al1

SYNONYMS FOR legal

3 licit, legitimate, sanctioned.

OTHER WORDS FROM legal

Definition for legal (2 of 2)

legal dictionary

noun

a specialized dictionary covering terms used in the various branches of the legal profession, as civil law, criminal law, and corporate law. A comprehensive legal dictionary adds to its body of standard English entries many words and phrases that have made their way into modern legal practice from law French and Latin and are rarely found in a general English monolingual dictionary. Such a specialized dictionary is useful not only for law students and for attorneys themselves, but for members of the lay public who require legal services. Legal dictionaries published in print follow the normal practice of sorting entry terms alphabetically, while electronic dictionaries, such as the online Dictionary of Law on Dictionary.com, allow direct, immediate access to a search term.

Example sentences from the Web for legal

British Dictionary definitions for legal

legal
/ (ˈliːɡəl) /

adjective

established by or founded upon law; lawful
of or relating to law
recognized, enforceable, or having a remedy at law rather than in equity
relating to or characteristic of the profession of law

Derived forms of legal

legally, adverb

Word Origin for legal

C16: from Latin lēgālis, from lēx law