From Latin 'legalis,' from 'lex' (law), from PIE *leg- (to gather) — same root as 'logic' through Greek 'logos.'
Relating to, based on, or established by law; permitted by law.
From Old French 'légal' or directly from Latin 'lēgālis' (pertaining to the law), from 'lēx' (genitive 'lēgis'), meaning 'law, statute, rule, regulation,' probably from PIE *leǵ- (to collect, to gather), with a semantic development from 'a collection of rules' to 'law.' Some scholars connect it to the sense of 'reading' (Latin 'legere,' to read, to gather), since laws were read aloud. The suffix '-ālis' forms adjectives meaning 'pertaining to.' Key roots
English has two Latin-derived words meaning 'pertaining to law' that entered at different times with slightly different nuances: 'legal' (from 'lēx,' law as written statute) and 'loyal' (from the same Latin root, via Old French 'loial,' faithful to the law). 'Loyal' and 'legal' are etymological doublets — the same word borrowed twice, once keeping the Latin form and once reshaped by French phonology. A loyal person was originally a lawful one
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