4  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Legal  \Le"gal\  (l[=e]"gal),  a.  [L.  legalis,  fr  lex,  legis,  law; 
  prob.  orig.,  that  which  lies  or  is  fixed  (cf.  L.  lectus  bed), 
  and  if  so  akin  to  E.  lie,  law:  cf  F.  l['e]gal.  Cf  {Lie}  to 
  be  prostrate,  {Loyal},  {Leal}.] 
  1.  Created  by  permitted  by  in  conformity  with  or  relating 
  to  law;  as  a  legal  obligation;  a  legal  standard  or  test; 
  a  legal  procedure;  a  legal  claim;  a  legal  trade  anything 
  is  legal  which  the  laws  do  not  forbid. 
 
  2.  (Theol.) 
  a  According  to  the  law  of  works  as  distinguished  from 
  free  grace;  or  resting  on  works  for  salvation. 
  b  According  to  the  old  or  Mosaic  dispensation;  in 
  accordance  with  the  law  of  Moses. 
 
  3.  (Law)  Governed  by  the  rules  of  law  as  distinguished  from 
  the  rules  of  equity;  as  legal  estate;  legal  assets. 
  --Bouvier.  --Burrill. 
 
  {Legal  cap}.  See  under  {Cap}. 
 
  {Legal  tender}. 
  a  The  act  of  tendering  in  the  performance  of  a  contract 
  or  satisfaction  of  a  claim  that  which  the  law 
  prescribes  or  permits,  and  at  such  time  and  place  as 
  the  law  prescribes  or  permits. 
  b  That  currency,  or  money,  which  the  law  authorizes  a 
  debtor  to  tender  and  requires  a  creditor  to  receive. 
  It  differs  in  different  countries. 
 
  Syn:  Lawful;  constitutional;  legitimate;  licit;  authorized. 
  See  {Lawful}. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  legal 
  adj  1:  established  by  or  founded  upon  law  or  official  or  accepted 
  rules  [ant:  {illegal}] 
  2:  of  or  relating  to  jurisprudence;  "legal  loophole" 
  3:  having  legal  efficacy  or  force;  "a  sound  title  to  the 
  property"  [syn:  {sound}] 
  4:  relating  to  or  characteristic  of  the  profession  of  law;  "the 
  legal  profession" 
  5:  (sports)  allowed  by  official  rules  "a  legal  pass  receiver" 
 
  From  Jargon  File  (4.2.3,  23  NOV  2000)  [jargon]: 
 
  legal  adj  Loosely  used  to  mean  `in  accordance  with  all  the 
  relevant  rules',  esp.  in  connection  with  some  set  of  constraints  defined 
  by  software.  "The  older  =+  alternate  for  +=  is  no  longer  legal  syntax  in 
  ANSI  C."  "This  parser  processes  each  line  of  legal  input  the  moment  it 
  sees  the  trailing  linefeed."  Hackers  often  model  their  work  as  a  sort  of 
  game  played  with  the  environment  in  which  the  objective  is  to  maneuver 
  through  the  thicket  of  `natural  laws'  to  achieve  a  desired  objective. 
  Their  use  of  `legal'  is  flavored  as  much  by  this  game-playing  sense 
  as  by  the  more  conventional  one  having  to  do  with  courts  and  lawyers. 
  Compare  {language  lawyer},  {legalese}. 
 
 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  legal 
 
  Loosely  used  to  mean  "in  accordance  with  all  the  relevant 
  rules",  especially  in  connection  with  some  set  of  constraints 
  defined  by  software.  "The  older  =+  alternate  for  +=  is  no 
  longer  legal  syntax  in  ANSI  C."  "This  parser  processes  each 
  line  of  legal  input  the  moment  it  sees  the  trailing  linefeed." 
  Hackers  often  model  their  work  as  a  sort  of  game  played  with 
  the  environment  in  which  the  objective  is  to  maneuver  through 
  the  thicket  of  "natural  laws"  to  achieve  a  desired  objective. 
  Their  use  of  legal"  is  flavoured  as  much  by  this  game-playing 
  sense  as  by  the  more  conventional  one  having  to  do  with  courts 
  and  lawyers.  Compare  {language  lawyer},  {legalese}. 
 
  [{Jargon  File}] 
 
 

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