| 释义 |
le·gal
I. \ˈlēgəl sometimes ˈlig-\ adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin legalis of or relating to law, from leg-, lex law (probably originally meaning a collection) + -alis -al; probably akin to Latin legere to gather, select — more at legend
1.
a. : according with the Mosaic law
b. : of, relating to, or based on the doctrine of salvation through works rather than by grace
2. : of or relating to law
< may request … an advisory opinion on any legal question — U.N. Charter >
< the question of control was a legal one which should not have been submitted to the jury — D.N.Edelstein >
< legal textbooks >
3.
a. : deriving authority from law : founded upon law : de jure
< a legal government >
< the duly constituted and legal successors of the ancien régime >
— compare legitimate, political
b. : having a formal status derived from or as if from law often without a basis in actual fact : titular
< an artificial legal difference — F.D.Roosevelt >
c. : established by law; especially : statutory
< the legal test of mental capacity — K.C.Masteller >
4. : conforming to or permitted by law or established rules (as of a game) : according to the principles of law : conforming to the procedures and methods prescribed by law
< an enterprise which is not only legal for positivists but positively enjoined by their creed — W.P.Alston >
< their action was made regular and legal — J.R.Green >
— compare constitutional
5. : recognized or made effective by a court of law as distinguished from a court of equity : existing or valid in law as distinguished from equity — compare equitable 2
6. : of, relating to, or having the characteristics of the profession of law or of one of its members
< a bottle … that some legal friend had sent him — J.G.Cozzens >
< stood in legal gravity — Hamlin Garland >
< surprised to hear it from a legal gentleman — Ellen Wilkinson >
7.
a. : created by the constructions of the law
< passed her life in a kind of legal childhood — Charles Dickens >
< a legal fiction >
b. : recognized as such by law
< as a legal woman … she could presumably marry — Norman Ober >
8. : arising by operation of law as distinguished from that which arises by agreement or act of the parties
< a legal hypothec >
— compare conventional 1a
Synonyms: see lawful
II. noun
(-s)
1. : a requirement or right established by law; especially : legal reversion
2. : a paid advertisement in a newspaper consisting of matter required by law or ordinance to be made public
3. or legal investment : a class of securities in which trustees, savings banks, and other investors regulated by law may legally invest |