Meanings of the Word "Legal"

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word "legal" as meaning "of or pertaining to law, falling within the province of law" (OED). Garner defines its meaning in the identical way in Garner's Modern American Usage, and adds, "established, permitted, or not forbidden by law" as a further definition, and states that these two phrases are used with equal frequency. The words "lawful" and "licit" share this second definition as being "according or not contrary to law, permitted by law," according to Garner, but he insists "lawful" should not be used to replace "legal" according to the first definition as it sometimes is in the example, "The judgment must be affirmed if there is sufficient evidence to support it on any lawful (read legal) theory..." The New Fowler's Modern English Usage states that "legal" is the broadest of the terms "legal," "lawful," "legitimate," and "licit" (Fowler's) 449).

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, the word is derived from the Latin legalis - leg=lex=law, and is a word of Italic and Indo-Iran origin (Onions, Friedrichsen and Burchfield). NTC's Dictionary of Latin and Greek Origins says that, "Something that is LEGitimate is LEGal, lawful, valid, and LEGit" (Moore and Moore 168). They give the example of, "I am the legitimate owner of that car," as an example. Transactions that are LEGitimized are LEGalized, authorized, and justified. A child born in a LEGal marriage is LEGitimate; one born outside of a LEGal marr

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Category: Government - M