legal

The word “legal” means relating to the law. In plain terms, anything to do with law, or specifically permitted under the law.

“Legal” is pronounced LEE-guhl (/ˈli.ɡəl/ in IPA).

Here is “legal” used in a sentence: “She sought legal advice before signing the contract.”

Depending on how it is used, “legal” can be an adjective and a noun.

The word “legal” comes from Latin. A learned borrowing from Latin lēgālis, from lēx, "law" — a doublet of "loyal," which came into English through French instead.

“Legal” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Legal” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: relating to the law.

The words look and sound somewhat alike but mean very different things. Legal relates to the law, describing what the law allows or what concerns legal matters. Loyal describes faithfulness and steady support for a person, group, or cause. One is about law; the other is about devotion.

Legal describes something that relates to the law or is permitted by it, while illegal describes something the law forbids. Driving with a valid licence is legal; driving without one is illegal. The prefix "il-" flips the meaning to what breaks the law rather than what follows it.

You might say, "She sought legal advice before signing," or "The contract is legal and binding." In the first, legal points to the field of law; in the second, it means allowed by law. Both senses tie back to law and its rules.