Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “semilegal” come from?

semilegal (English) comes from Romanian legal, from French légal, from Latin lēgālis, from Latin lēx, from Proto-Italic lēg-, from Proto-Indo-European leǵ-s, from Proto-Indo-European leǵ- — to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to...

semilegal (English): Of partial or questionable legality

Definitions

  1. Of partial or questionable legality

Ancestry of “semilegal”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Romanianlegallegal, lawful
2Frenchlégallegal, relating to law; legal, in accordance with...
3Latinlēgālis—
4Latinlēx—
5Proto-Italiclēg-—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-s—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European leǵ- →