entry
legal
/ˈliːɡəl/Relating to, permitted by, or required by law
From Proto-Indo-European, transmitted through Latin leg- (to collect).
from Old French légal "legal" (14c.) or directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French légal "legal" (14c.) or directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French légal "legal" (14c.) or directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French légal "legal" (14c.) or directly
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Old French légal "legal" (14c.) or directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French légal "legal" (14c.) or directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French légal "legal" (14c.) or directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French légal "legal" (14c.) or directly
+1 more sourcePicture a Roman lawmaker assembling rules into a formal bundle: Latin lēx meant an enactment, regulation, or even a proposition put before the people. Linguists connect it—though not with absolute certainty—to Proto-Indo-European *leg-, “to collect,” the same root that produced Latin words involving gathering words, choosing, and reading. That makes legal a surprising cousin of lecture, election, delegate, and legacy: all carry distant traces of selecting or collecting something. French helped transmit légal into English, while the closely related French form loial eventually became loyal—so legal and loyal are historical doublets, not strangers. And despite the tempting resemblance, legal has nothing etymological to do with English law, which comes from a Germanic family. Remember the image: a law is a carefully gathered bundle of rules, and legal is whatever belongs to that bundle.
The Story
Picture a Roman lawmaker assembling rules into a formal bundle: Latin lēx meant an enactment, regulation, or even a proposition put before the people. Linguists connect it—though not with absolute certainty—to Proto-Indo-European *leg-, “to collect,” the same root that produced Latin words involving gathering words, choosing, and reading. That makes legal a surprising cousin of lecture, election, delegate, and legacy: all carry distant traces of selecting or collecting something. French helped transmit légal into English, while the closely related French form loial eventually became loyal—so legal and loyal are historical doublets, not strangers. And despite the tempting resemblance, legal has nothing etymological to do with English law, which comes from a Germanic family. Remember the image: a law is a carefully gathered bundle of rules, and legal is whatever belongs to that bundle.
Modern Usage
In sexualized slang, describing someone considered old enough to engage in sexual activity legally; this usage is often objectifying and context-sensitive.
Kin & Kindred
From 'leg-'·to collect, gather; possibly a collection of rules
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary