illegalis

Forms

illēgālis (neuter illēgāle); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin in-² (“not”) + lēgālis (“legal”).^[2][3][4] The DMLBS labels it a Late Latin gloss word.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Late Latin glossaries:^[2][5] the Corpus Glossary explains anomalum by inlegale,^[5] and the adverb illēgāliter occurs in a Latin version of the acts of a church council.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the Middle Ages it means both “unlawful, against the law” and “outside the law”: the MLW quotes it of unlawful exchanges of church property in the Freising charters (after 938) and of men declared disinherited and lawless in a diploma of Otto I,^[6] and Niermeyer and Du Cange give “outlawed”, as in the Sachsenspiegel.^[7][8] Albert the Great uses it in ethics of the unjust man, at odds with the law, and music theory for what is irregular or anomalous.^[6] English illegal (1630s) is from French illégal or directly from Medieval Latin.^[4]

Timeline

• after 938 – The Freising traditions speak of unlawful exchanges of church property.^[6]
• 966 – A diploma of Otto I uses it of outlaws.^[8][6]
• 13th century – Albert the Great uses it in his commentary on the Ethics.^[6][3]
• 1630s – English illegal is first recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Medieval Latin) unlawful, illegal.^[6][1]
2. (Medieval Latin) Outlawed; obeying no law, lawless.^[7][8][5][6]
3. (Medieval Latin, music) Irregular, anomalous.^[6]

Related words

• lēx
• English illegal

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre