Legally

How to spell legally

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce legally

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does legally mean?

1. adverbIn a way that conforms to or is permitted by the law.

Legally in a sentence

• The company is legally required to publish its annual accounts.

• You can legally drive a car once you hold a valid licence.

Where does legally come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This adverb traces back to the Latin noun lex, with the stem leg-, which simply meant 'law'. From that came the adjective legalis, meaning 'pertaining to the law', which passed into Old French as legal and was borrowed into English in the late 1400s. The adverb 'legally' was then formed in English by adding the native suffix -ly to the adjective 'legal'. The same Latin stem sits inside a family of familiar relatives such as 'legislate', 'legitimate', and 'privilege', all of which carry the idea of law. The spelling trap is purely mechanical: the adjective already ends in -al, so the adverb stacks -ly on top to give the double 'l' in 'legally', not a single 'l'.

How the word is built

• leg (from lex, lex/legis: law)
• -al (adjective: relating to)
• -ly (adverb: in the manner of)