Definition: legal
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"
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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.
Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2003-OCT-10)
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]
Source: Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001)
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.
