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lawful

 [law-fuhl]   Origin

law·ful

   [law-fuhl]
adjective
1.
allowed or permitted by law; not contrary to law: a lawful enterprise.
2.
recognized or sanctioned by law; legitimate: a lawful marriage; a lawful heir.
3.
appointed or recognized by law; legally qualified: a lawful king.
4.
acting or living according to the law; law-abiding: a lawful man; a lawful community.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English laghful. See law1, -ful

Related forms
law·ful·ly, adverb
law·ful·ness, noun
pre·law·ful, adjective
pre·law·ful·ly, adverb
pre·law·ful·ness, noun
EXPAND
qua·si-law·ful, adjective
qua·si-law·ful·ly, adverb
COLLAPSE

Synonyms
1. legal. 2. licit.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Lawful is always a great word to know.
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a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
lawful (ˈlɔːfʊl)
 
—adj
allowed, recognized, or sanctioned by law; legal
 
'lawfully
 
—adv
 
'lawfulness
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

lawful
c.1300, laghful; cf. O.N. logfullr (see law).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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