Where does “legalspeak” come from?
legalspeak (English) comes from English speak, from Middle English speke, from Old English specan, from Old English sprecan, from Proto-West Germanic *sprekan, from Proto-Germanic sprekaną, from Proto-Indo-European spreg- — to make a sound, speak; to make a sound, utter,...
Ancestry of “legalspeak”, step by step
legalspeak traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English speak
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | speak | To communicate with one's voice, to say words out... |
| 2 | Middle English | speke | — |
| 3 | Old English | specan | Alternative form of sprecan; to speak |
| 4 | Old English | sprecan | to speak, talk |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *sprekan | to speak |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | sprekaną | to speak, to make a noise |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | spreg- | to make a sound, speak; to make a sound, utter,... |
via English legal
| 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... |