legale

Forms

legale m or f (plural legali), adjective and noun^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin lēgālis (“of the law”), from lēx (“law”), formed like rēgālis (“royal”) from rēx (“king”).^[2][3][4] The Latin adjective was formed with the suffix -ālis.^[5][1] Some of its political and legal uses follow French: legalizzare is from French légaliser, and medicina legale (“forensic medicine”) may copy médecine légale, recorded from 1812.^[2][3]

The same Latin adjective passed through Old French leel into Italian as leale (“loyal”), the popular doublet of this word.^[6][3][1] French légal (14th century) and Spanish legal are learned words of the same kind.^[7][3][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's earliest record is a Florentine translation of Albertano da Brescia of 1275, where legale means “established and ordered by law”.^[9] DELI's first date is Dante's Convivio (1304–1308), for “of the law”.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

In Old Italian legale could also mean “loyal, upright”, the same as leale: Bonvesin de la Riva, before 1315, has it in this sense, and with it legaltà.^[2][9][3] Other early senses were “just” and “concerning legal learning”, and an abito legale was the dress of men of law.^[9] Cavalca speaks of the osservanze legali, the observances of the Mosaic law.^[7]

The noun, “lawyer, attorney”, appears in Anton Maria Salvini, before 1729.^[2] From the 16th century came legalità (before 1580), legalizzare “to authenticate a document” (1576), and illegale (1688).^[2][3] Nineteenth-century usage added studio legale, a lawyer's office (1869), and the political legalitario, “acting only by lawful means” (1890 or 1899).^[2][3] Many fixed terms of law and administration are built on the adjective, such as numero legale “quorum”, sede legale “registered office” and ora legale “summer time”.^[4][10][11]

Timeline

• 1275 – A Florentine translation of Albertano da Brescia uses legale.^[9]
• 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for “of the law”.^[2][4]
• Before 1315 – Bonvesin de la Riva uses it for “loyal”.^[2]
• 1576 – Legalizzare is recorded in a document.^[2]
• 1688 – Illegale is recorded.^[3]
• Before 1729 – Anton Maria Salvini uses legale for a lawyer.^[2]
• 1869 – Tommaseo records studio legale.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or concerning the law, legal, juridical: Ho chiesto un parere legale prima di firmare il contratto.^[4][10][12]
2. Permitted or prescribed by law, lawful: In quel paese il gioco d'azzardo è legale.^[4][10][12]
3. In a general sense, legitimate, regular, correct.^[12][11]

Noun

1. lawyer, an advocate or other qualified legal adviser: L'azienda si è rivolta ai suoi legali.^[4][10][11]

Word family

• legalità
• legalizzare
• legalizzazione
• legalismo
• legalista
• legalitario
• illegale
• illegalità
• legalmente

Related words

• leale
• legge
• Latin legalis
• French légal

Usage notes

Common terms include medicina legale “forensic medicine”, numero legale “quorum”, sede legale “registered office”, ora legale “daylight saving time” and carta legale, stamped paper.^{[4][10][11][13]}

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
8. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2193
9. ^ a b c d Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
10. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana