Etymology Explorer › Portuguese

Where does “illegal” come from?

illegal (Portuguese) comes from Portuguese ilegal, from Medieval Latin illegalis, 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...

illegal (Portuguese): Obsolete spelling of ilegal

Definitions

  1. Obsolete spelling of ilegal

Ancestry of “illegal”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Portugueseilegalillegal; unlawful
2Medieval Latinillegalisillegal
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- →