Where does “legalism” come from?
Legalism derives from English legal, from Latin legalis (relating to law), from the Latin suffix -alis, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European leǵ- (to gather or speak).
legalism (English): A philosophy of focusing on the text of written...
Definitions
- A philosophy of focusing on the text of written...
Ancestry of “legalism”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | legal | Relating to the law or to lawyers; Having its... |
| 2 | Latin | lēgālis | legal |
| 3 | Latin | lēx | a proposition or motion for a law made to the people by a magistrate, a bill |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | lēg- | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ-s | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | leǵ- | to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to... |