"illegal" in seven languages
Meaningillegal
Spanish
ilegal
/ileˈɡal/
learned
French
illégal
/ileɡal/
learned
Italian
illegale
/illeˈɡale/
learned
Portuguese
ilegal
/ileˈgaw/
learned
Romanian
ilegal
/ileˈgal/
learned
Catalan
il·legal
/illəˈgal/
learned
English
illegal
/ɪˈliɡəl/
from Latin/French · Medieval Latin illēgālis, partly via French
English → ItalianillegalillegaleCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share
The Latin ancestor
ILLĒGĀLEM (Medieval Latin)‘not lawful (IN- + LĒGĀLIS)’
All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.
The story
IN- turned into il- before l; Spanish then wrote a single l (ilegal). The inherited heir of LĒGĀLIS is a different word: leal, loyal, leale.
English relatives: legal, legislate, loyal
Learn it
In a sentence
- esAparcar aquí es ilegal.
- frIl est illégal de se garer ici.
- itParcheggiare qui è illegale.
- ptEstacionar aqui é ilegal.
- roParcarea aici este ilegală.
- caAparcar aquí és il·legal.
- enParking here is illegal.
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