paralegal
par·a·le·gal/ˌpɛɹəˈliɡ(ə)l/noun
paralegal is spelled P-A-R-A-L-E-G-A-L: 9 letters and 4 syllables (par·a·le·gal). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, paralegal means “One who assists a lawyer in routine legal work, but who is without qualified status as a solicitor or barrister (England and Wales), attorney (U.S.)…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of paralegal is paralegals.
How many letters and syllables are in paralegal?
| Letters | 9: P-A-R-A-L-E-G-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: par·a·le·gal |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 39,336th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is paralegal?
Paralegal appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,336th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce paralegal?
- UK /ˌpæɹəˈliːɡl̩/
- US /ˌpɛɹəˈliɡ(ə)l/
Paralegal has 4 syllables, split par·a·le·gal in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-paralegal.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of paralegal
- paralegals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does paralegal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One who assists a lawyer in routine legal work, but who is without qualified status as a solicitor or barrister (England and Wales), attorney (U.S.), or advocate; known more commonly in the U.S. as a legal assistant.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Paralegal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense one who assists a lawyer:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | parajuriste, paralégal |
| German | Anwaltsassistent, Anwaltsassistentin, Rechtsanwaltsgehilfe, Rechtsanwaltsgehilfin |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does paralegal come from?
From para- + legal.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).