Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of, relating to, or concerned with law.
  • adjective Established or recognized by law.
  • adjective Authorized by law.
  • adjective Established legally other than by statute, as by a judicial opinion.
  • adjective In conformity with or permitted by law.
  • adjective Recognized or enforced by law rather than by equity.
  • adjective In terms of or created by the law.
  • adjective Applicable to or characteristic of attorneys or their profession.
  • adjective Acceptable or allowable under official rules.
  • noun A person who is legally authorized to live and work in a country.
  • noun A person or department providing legal assistance.
  • noun A legal notice, especially an advertisement.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pertaining or relating to law; connected with the law: as, legal doctrines or studies; a legal document or controversy; legal arguments.
  • According or conformable to law; permitted or warranted by the law or laws; lawful; not forbidden by law; having the force of law: as, the action is strictly legal; legal traffic or commerce.
  • Pertaining to the provisions or administration of the law; determined by or in accordance with law; judicial: as, legal proceedings; a legal opinion or decision; a legal standard or test.
  • Amenable to remedy or punishment by law as distinguished from equity: as, legal waste; legal irregularity.
  • Created by law; recognized by law: as, legal incapacity; a legal infant; legal crimes.
  • In theology, according to the Mosaic law or dispensation; according or pertaining to the doctrine of reliance on good works for salvation, as distinguished from that of free grace.
  • Synonyms and Legitimate, etc. (see lawful); legalized, authorized, allowable, just, constitutional.
  • noun In Scots law, same as legal reversion (which see, under I.).

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Created by, permitted by, in conformity with, or relating to, law.
  • adjective According to the law of works, as distinguished from free grace; or resting on works for salvation.
  • adjective According to the old or Mosaic dispensation; in accordance with the law of Moses.
  • adjective (Law) Governed by the rules of law as distinguished from the rules of equity
  • adjective See under Cap.
  • adjective That currency, or money, which the law authorizes a debtor to tender and requires a creditor to receive. It differs in different countries.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Relating to the law or to lawyers, as in legal profession.
  • adjective Having its basis in the law, such as legal precedent.
  • adjective Being allowed or prescribed by law, such as a legal motion.
  • adjective slang Above the age of consent, most often concerning attractive but young adolescent girls.
  • noun US, Canada Paper in sheets 8½ in × 14 in (215.9 mm × 355.6 mm).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective established by or founded upon law or official or accepted rules
  • adjective of or relating to jurisprudence
  • adjective having legal efficacy or force
  • adjective relating to or characteristic of the profession of law
  • adjective allowed by official rules

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin lēgālis, from lēx, lēg-, law; see leg- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin lēgālis ("legal"), from lēx ("law").

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Examples

  • They point out that in the legal sense put forth by the constitution there is no reason to think that a fetus is a *legal* person.

    Ashley’s case and “I’d rather be dead.” 2007

  • Besides, do these illegals really want guest worker programs, or just to get all the benefits of citizenship without going through the legal process like the *legal* immigrants?

    Immigration: Spelling Things Out 2006

  • The present Law Officers of the Crown were rather startled at the intention of departing from the precedent of George IV. 's reign, on seeing the legal opinions of their predecessors; they did not differ from the _legal_ doctrines laid down by them, but were not very well satisfied on the point of discretion and policy.

    The Letters of Queen Victoria, Vol 2 (of 3), 1844-1853 A Selection from her Majesty's correspondence between the years 1837 and 1861 Queen of Great Britain Victoria 1860

  • The term legal monopoly is avoided because the means used are often illegal or non-legal.

    THE MORAL DIMENSION Amitai Etzioni 1988

  • The term legal monopoly is avoided because the means used are often illegal or non-legal.

    THE MORAL DIMENSION Amitai Etzioni 1988

  • Instead, the version of the agreement that emerged contained the phrase "legal force"—a broader term that is seen as offering governments more leeway to identify how to curb emissions.

    China, India, U.S. Take Steps Toward Emissions Deal Patrick McGroarty 2011

  • It is important to consider how interpretation, as characterised in subsection 2.2 above, fits into the discussion of the ambit of the term legal reasoning in the opening section of this entry.

    Interpretation and Coherence in Legal Reasoning Dickson, Julie 2005

  • Article 4, Section 2, (the third paragraph,) the term "legally" was struck out; and the words, "under the laws thereof," inserted after the word "State," in compliance with the wish of some who thought the term legal equivocal, and favoring the idea that SLAVERY was

    The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Part 4 of 4 American Anti-Slavery Society

  • Article 4, Section 2, (the third paragraph,) the term "legally" was struck out; and the words, "under the laws thereof," inserted after the word "State," in compliance with the wish of some who thought the term legal equivocal, and favoring the idea that SLAVERY was

    The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Omnibus American Anti-Slavery Society

  • Other countries want to include the phrase "legal outcome," language rejected by EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard as too vague.

    BusinessWeek.com -- Top News 2011

Comments

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  • A town in Alberta, Canada.

    January 1, 2008