The story
- Latin · derived fromlegalis
- Medieval Latin · derived fromillegalis
- French · borrowed fromillégal
- English todayillegal
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.
Words from the same roots
Latinlegalis all →
loyalleal
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.