paralegal

par·a·le·gal
P3A1R1A1L1E1G2A1L1
UK/ˌpæɹəˈliːɡl̩/US/ˌpɛɹəˈliɡ(ə)l/

noun

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.

Similar
legal assistant
OriginEnglish legal ← Latin lēgāli ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? →
Less commonScrabble 12
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounparalegal (plural paralegals)

plural paralegals

  1. lawOne 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.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna person with specialized training who assists lawyers

Similar
legal assistant
Broader
paraprofessional
Also see
legal assistant

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  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. Englishparalegal

From para- + legal.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 律師助理 /律师助理
  • 律師助理 /律师助理 (lǜshī zhùlǐ)one who assists a lawyer
Dutch juridisch medewerker
  • juridisch medewerkerone who assists a lawyer
Finnish asianajajan avustaja
  • asianajajan avustajaone who assists a lawyer
French parajuriste, paralégal
  • parajuristeone who assists a lawyer
  • paralégalone who assists a lawyer
German Anwaltsassistent, Anwaltsassistentin
  • Anwaltsassistentone who assists a lawyer
  • Anwaltsassistentinone who assists a lawyer
  • Rechtsanwaltsgehilfeone who assists a lawyer
  • Rechtsanwaltsgehilfinone who assists a lawyer
Norwegian Bokmål advokatfullmektig
  • advokatfullmektigone who assists a lawyer

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with paralegal

eagleregalbeagleegalbald eagleinveiglelegal beaglesteppe eagle
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

paralegal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paralegal

MLA

“paralegal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paralegal. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “paralegal,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paralegal.

Source: paralegal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.