Etymology

legalese

le·gal·ese
L1E1G2A1L1E1S1E1

Today it means: Technical jargon common in the legal profession; the argot of lawyers. Full definition →

English legal ← Latin lēgāli ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*leǵ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*lḗǵs?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*legʰ-
  4. Proto-Indo-European*lḗgʰs?
  5. Proto-Italic*lēks
  6. Latinlex
  7. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  9. Latinlēgāli
  10. Englishlegal
  11. English todaylegalese

From legal + -ese.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.