"legal" in sette lingue
Significatolegal
Spagnolo
/leˈɡal/
dotta
In Spain, colloquially also 'decent, trustworthy': es un tío legal.
Francese
/leɡal/
dotta
Italiano
/leˈɡale/
dotta
Also a noun: un legale is a lawyer.
Portoghese
/leˈɡaw/
dotta
Trap: in Brazil legal is also everyday slang for 'cool, nice', so 'não é legal' reads as 'it's not nice'.
Rumeno
/leˈɡal/
dotta
Catalano
/ləˈɡal/
dotta
Inglese
/ˈliɡəl/
dal latino/francese · French légal, Latin LĒGĀLIS
L’antenato latino
LĒGĀLEM‘of the law (LĒX, LĒGIS 'law')’
Tutte e sei le sorelle discendono da questa parola, salvo diversa indicazione qui sotto.
La storia
The inherited form of the same word lost its g: Spanish leal and French loyal mean 'faithful' — and English borrowed both legal and loyal.
Parenti inglesi: legal, legitimate, legislate, loyal (via French)
Imparala
In una frase
- esNo es legal aparcar aquí.
- frCe n'est pas légal de se garer ici.
- itNon è legale parcheggiare qui.
- ptEstacionar aqui é ilegal.
- roNu e legal să parchezi aici.
- caNo és legal aparcar aquí.
- enIt is not legal to park here.
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