"law" in sette lingue
Significatolaw
Spagnolo
/lej/
f.ereditaria
Francese
/lwa/
f.ereditaria
Italiano
/ˈleddʒe/
f.ereditaria
Portoghese
/lej/
f.ereditaria
Rumeno
/ˈledʒe/
f.ereditaria
Catalano
/ʎɛj/
f.ereditaria
Inglese
/lɔ/
inglese nativa · Old Norse lagu 'something laid down'
Not related to 'legal' despite the meaning: it is a cognate of 'lay'.
L’antenato latino
LĒGEM‘law’
Tutte e sei le sorelle discendono da questa parola, salvo diversa indicazione qui sotto.
La storia
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.
Parenti inglesi: legal, legislate, legitimate, loyal
Imparala
In una frase
- 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 famiglia latina
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