« law » en sept langues
Senslaw
Espagnol
/lej/
fém.héréditaire
Français
/lwa/
fém.héréditaire
Italien
/ˈleddʒe/
fém.héréditaire
Portugais
/lej/
fém.héréditaire
Roumain
/ˈledʒe/
fém.héréditaire
Catalan
/ʎɛj/
fém.héréditaire
Anglais
/lɔ/
anglais natif · Old Norse lagu 'something laid down'
Not related to 'legal' despite the meaning: it is a cognate of 'lay'.
L’ancêtre latin
LĒGEM‘law’
Les six sœurs en descendent, sauf indication contraire ci-dessous.
L’histoire
Spanish and French dissolved the g into a glide (ley, loi); Italian strengthened it to ddʒ. English loyal and legal are both LĒGĀLIS — one worn down in Old French mouths, one taken from books.
Parents anglais: legal, legislate, legitimate, loyal
L’apprendre
Dans une phrase
- esNadie está por encima de la ley.
- frPersonne n'est au-dessus de la loi.
- itNessuno è al di sopra della legge.
- ptNinguém está acima da lei.
- roNimeni nu e mai presus de lege.
- caNingú no està per sobre de la llei.
- enNobody is above the law.
La famille latine
LĒX, LĒG-· law
LĒGĀLEM 'of the law' is a textbook doublet: in speech it lost its g and drifted from 'lawful' to 'faithful' (leal, loyal); in writing it stayed legal. English borrowed both from French, centuries apart, and so has loyal and legal side by side. Portuguese leal and Catalan lleial took the popular road too; Romanian, which inherited lege 'law', borrowed loial and legal from French.
LĒGEMlaw
esleyfrloiitleggeptleirolegecallei
LĒGĀLEMlawful → faithful
eslealfrloyalitlealeptlealroloialcalleialenloyal
LĒGĀLEMlegal (learned)
eslegalfrlégalitlegaleptlegalrolegalcalegalenlegal
LĒGITIMUMlawful, legitimate
eslegítimofrlégitimeitlegittimoptlegítimorolegitimcalegítimenlegitimate
PRĪVILĒGIUMa law for one person
esprivilegiofrprivilègeitprivilegioptprivilégioroprivilegiucaprivilegienprivilege