legal

Definition

Relating to the law or to lawyers.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin lēgālis (“legal”), from lēx (“law”). Doublet of loyal and leal.

Example Sentences

• "legal profession"
• "According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle."
• "legal precedent"