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illegal

Pronunciation: /ɪˈliːɡəl/

The English word “illegal” has 8 meanings listed here.

adjective

  1. Contrary to, forbidden, or not authorized by law, especially criminal law.
  2. Forbidden by established rules.
  3. Totally fictitious, and often issued on behalf of a non-existent territory or country.
  4. Being or doing something illegally.
  5. Being an illegal immigrant; residing in a country illegally.

noun

  1. An illegal act or technique.
  2. Contraband, esp. illegal substances such as drugs.
  3. A spy operating abroad illegally and under non-official cover, without visible ties to his or her country’s authorities.

Etymology

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.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.