Etymology

paralegal

par·a·le·gal
P3A1R1A1L1E1G2A1L1

Today it 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.), or advocate; known more commonly in the U.S. as a legal assistant. Full definition →

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

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
  3. Proto-Hellenic*pərai
  4. Ancient Greekπᾰρᾰ́ (părắ)
  5. Ancient Greekπᾰρᾰ- (pără-)
  6. Englishpara-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*leǵ-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*lḗǵs?
  9. Proto-Indo-European*legʰ-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*lḗgʰs?
  11. Proto-Italic*lēks
  12. Latinlex
  13. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  14. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  15. Latinlēgāli
  16. Englishlegal
  17. English todayparalegal

From para- + legal.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.