Link Centre Dictionary

illegal

il·le·gal

UK/ɪˈliːɡəl/ US/ɪˈli.ɡəl/ common us

adjective

1.

prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules

  • “an illegal chess move”

Origin

Borrowed from French illégal, from Medieval Latin illegalis, from Latin legalis, by surface analysis, il- + legal. In senses relating to immigration, via clipping of illegal alien or illegal immigrant.

Phrases

  • illegal alien
  • illegal combatant
  • illegal forward kick
  • illegal immigrant
  • illegal immigration
  • illegal number
  • illegal prime

Related words

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.