legal

/ˈliː.ɡəl/

//ˈliː.ɡəl// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"legal" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“legal” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #878. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#878
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Relating to the law or to lawyers.

Corpus desk

Index EN-legal · legal · English

legal · rank #878 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #878
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH increase

Nearest frequency peer: increase (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “legal”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “legal” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

legal vs lel
60% similar
legal vs legs
60% similar
legal vs Lego
40% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for legal
PropertyValue
Headwordlegal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈliː.ɡəl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#878
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “legal”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).legallands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “increase” (#877), “lose” (#879), “hair” (#876). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “legal” is #878. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around legal (IPA /ˈliː.ɡəl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #878 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for legal, with forms such as "elgal", "leagl", and "legall". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "lel", "legs", "Lego", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Latin lēgālis (“legal”), from lēx (“law”). Doublet of loyal and leal. The correct English form is legal, spelled L-E-G-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Relating to the law or to lawyers.
  2. 2
    Having its basis in the law.
  3. 3
    Being established, permitted, required or prescribed by law.
  4. 4
    Following the rules or syntax of a system, such as a game or a programming language.
  5. 5
    Above the age of consent or the legal drinking age.
  6. 6
    Permitting the use and/or sale of cannabis; in which cannabis is lawful.
  7. 7
    Of paper or document layouts, measuring 8+¹⁄₂ × 14 inches (216 × 356 mm).
  8. 8
    Of paper or document layouts, measuring 8+¹⁄₂ × 13 inches (216 × 330 mm).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how legal appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. legal profession
  2. According to this saga of intellectual-property misanthropy, these creatures [patent trolls] roam the business world, buying up patents and then using them to demand extravagant payouts from companies they accuse of infringing them. Often, their victims pay up rather than face the costs of a legal battle.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin lēgālis (“legal”), from lēx (“law”). Doublet of loyal and leal.

This word in other languages

jurídico(Español)juridique(Français)juristisch(Deutsch)jurídico(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elgal
  • leagl
  • legall
  • leggal
  • legla
  • lgeal
  • llegal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of legal - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

elgal2leagl2legall1leggal1legla2lgeal2llegal1
Edit distance from "legal"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "legal"?
"legal" is spelled L-E-G-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈliː.ɡəl/.
What does "legal" mean?
As an adjective, "legal" means: Relating to the law or to lawyers.
What words are commonly confused with "legal"?
"legal" is commonly confused with "lel", "legs", "Lego". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "legal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "legal" is /ˈliː.ɡəl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "legal"?
Learned borrowing from Latin lēgālis (“legal”), from lēx (“law”). Doublet of loyal and leal. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "legal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

seven#884staff#888cover#867super#889

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

began7 variantsbuilt7 variantscareer7 variantsdaily7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list