Wordwyrt

legality

/liˈɡæləti/lee-GA-luh-tee
UK form converted from the US by rule · unchecked
/liˈɡæləti/lee-GA-luh-tee

Meaningbeing legal

Common meaning: the state of being allowed by law

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Journey through time

  1. Proto-Indo-European*lagh-‘lie down’source
  2. Latinlegalis‘legal’source
  3. Frenchlegalsource
  4. Englishlegal‘allowed by law’
  5. Englishformed in English from legallegality‘the state of being allowed by law’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Formed in English from legal + -ity.

Dictionary: Skeat (1898), LEGAL, p.328 · scan

Source words

  • legalis Latin · source word “legal”

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