# legal

Pronunciation: say "LEE-guhl" US /ˈliɡəl/, UK /ˈliː.ɡəl/

## Adjective

1. Connected with the law or with lawyers.
   - Simple: Having to do with the law or with lawyers.
   - _He spent years building a reputation in the legal profession._
   - _The newspaper consulted its legal team before publishing the story._
2. Allowed, required, or established by law, or recognized by the law as distinct from custom or morality.
   - Simple: Allowed or set up by the law, or true in the eyes of the law.
   - _Recreational fishing is legal here only during certain months._
   - _The committee confirmed that the new procedure was entirely legal._
3. Old enough to meet a minimum age set by law, such as the drinking age or the age of consent. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Old enough to meet a minimum age set by law, such as the drinking age.
   - _Most of the freshmen weren't legal yet, so the party stayed dry._
   - _Once she turned legal, she could order a drink with dinner._
4. Allowed by the rules or syntax of a formal system, such as a board game or a programming language.
   - Simple: Allowed by the rules of a system, such as a game or a computer program.
   - _The referee ruled that the substitution was legal under tournament rules._
   - _A compiler will reject any statement that is not legal in the language._
7. Of paper or a similar item: of the long size called legal, 8½ by 14 inches in the US and Canada, or 8½ by 13 inches in the Philippines. *(Canada, Philippines, US)*
   - Simple: Of paper: a long size, 8½ by 14 inches in the US and Canada, or 8½ by 13 inches in the Philippines.
   - _The architect's schedules were printed on legal sheets for the extra width._
   - _The contract was printed on legal paper, so it stuck out of the letter-size folders on her desk._
8. Of a place: allowing the use or sale of cannabis under the law.
   - Simple: Allowing the use or sale of cannabis.
   - _Tourists often visit legal states just to buy cannabis without worry._
   - _Once the territory went legal, dispensaries opened within months._

## Noun

5. The department within a company or other organization that handles legal matters, such as contracts and disputes. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: The part of a company that deals with laws, contracts, and disputes.
   - _Marketing wants to launch tomorrow, but legal still has concerns about the wording._
   - _She emailed legal to check whether the giveaway broke any rules._
6. Paper cut to sheets measuring 8½ by 14 inches (215.9 by 355.6 mm). *(Canada, US)*
   - Simple: Paper measuring about 8½ by 14 inches.
   - _Does this printer take legal, or only letter?_
   - _We ran out of legal, so the brief came out on letter-size sheets._
9. A person who immigrated through lawful channels. *(colloquial, US)*
   - Simple: A person who came to live in a country in a lawful way.
   - _My grandfather waited years for his papers, and he always made a point of saying he was a legal, not someone who had sneaked across._
   - _The debate often pits legals against those who entered without papers._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A spy who is officially attached to and apparently employed by an embassy, military post, or similar institution.

## Origin

English took it from Latin lēgālis ("legal"), which is based on lēx ("law"). Loyal and leal are its doublets.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/legal (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).