Etymologically
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illegale

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 20:41. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /il.leˈɡa.le/[1]

Forms

illegale m or f by sense (plural illegali)[1]

Etymology

It is from Italian in- + legale, with the negative prefix.[2][3][4][5][6] Sabatini–Coletti see the model of French illégal or English illegal behind it,[7] GDLI compares Medieval Latin illēgālis and the French word, recorded from the 14th century,[8] and Wiktionary treats it as a borrowing of the Medieval Latin word.[1] Tommaseo noted that it had no old examples and was formed on the analogy of illegittimo.[9]

The noun illegalità is the French illégalité (1361) or the English illegality (1639).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is a document of 1688 in a medical archive, with the sense “contrary to the law”.[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

In the 18th century Ferdinando Galiani wrote of an “illegal violence” used against a private person, and Carlo Botta of a tax imposed outside the assembly as “illegal, unjust and against the Constitution”.[8] Tommaseo distinguished a stronger sense, contrary to civil or political law, from a milder one, not in proper legal form.[9] Illegalità followed in 1689 and illegalismo in 1924, in Mussolini;[2] Panzini's dictionary of 1927 criticised the latter as a forgetting of the mother tongue.[2]

In recent use the adjective is also a noun for an illegal immigrant, and in computing it describes a character or an operation a program cannot accept.[4]

Timeline

  • 1688 – Illegale appears in a medical archive document.[2]
  • 1689 – Illegalità is recorded.[2]
  • 1924 – Mussolini uses illegalismo.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. illegal, not allowed by the law or by the rules in force: Vendere alcolici ai minori è illegale.[4][5][7]
  2. (computing) Of a character, not recognised by a program; of an operation, one that a system cannot carry out.[4]

Noun

  1. An illegal immigrant.[4]

Word family

  • illegalità
  • illegalmente
  • illegalismo
  • legale
  • legalità
  • illegittimo
  • illecito
  • Medieval Latin illēgālis
  • French illégal

Usage notes

Zingarelli separates it from its near-synonyms: clandestino is something done in secret because it is illegal, and also a person staying in a country without a permit;[10] nero and sommerso describe work and business that escape tax and social security.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  6. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  7. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 7, 254
  9. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  10. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli