legal eagle

1154

)

.legal 'eagle (also .legal 'beagle) noun (humorous) a lawyer, especially one who is very clever ( A ft

W ) WW

le-gal-ese /,li:ga'li:z/ noun (informal) the sort of language used in legal documents that is difficult to understand

();i#Ai£, ft#ffii£

.legal 'holiday noun (in the US) a public holiday that is fixed by law ( A HI ) ft aE fg 0 — compare bank HOLIDAY

le gal is tic /.liige'listik/ adj. (disapproving) obeying the law too strictly MAftMW;         ?E®ft#^A

6*J: a legalistic approach to family disputes £E#<ft#^r

le gal ity /lii'gaelati/ noun {pi. -ies) 1 [U] the fact of being legal -^ft ( 14 ) : They intended to challenge the legality of his claim in the courts.

1$ ^ ft '14 ^ ft M $£ o O The arrangement is of doubtful legality.        2 [C, usually pi.] the

legal aspect of an action or a     situation       (         AsStlf #2,

) ft # A Ho : You need a  lawyer         to explain all the

legalities of the contracts.        |W]fE

ft#±$J#Jl£ffl1A — compare illegality le gal ize (BrE also -ise) /'liigalaiz/ verb [VN] to make sth legal Is^ftft:; ^ffUft^ftnl legalization, -isa- tion noun [U]

'legal pad noun (NAmE) a number of sheets of paper with lines on them, fastened together at one end fpf=g;

m-, mmm

.legal proceedings noun [pi.] = legal action 'legal-size (also legal) adj. {NAmE) (used about paper ft A  8V2 inches (215.9 mm) wide and 14 inches

(355.6 mm) long  ( -£ 8V2      215.9 *

A, % 14        355.6 m* )

.legal 'tender noun [u] money that can be legally used to pay for things in a particular country ft'Mj^ft. legate /’legat/ noun the official representative of the Pope in a foreign country          : a papal legate

lega-tee /.lega'ti:/ noun {law #j a person who receives money or property (= a legacy) when sb dies

A;

le ga tion /li'geijn/ noun 1 a group of diplomats representing their government in a foreign country in an office that is below the rank of an embassy A ill AHA vi 2 the building where these people work £-

(£t£

le gato /li'gaitau; NAmE -tou/ adj. {music #) (from Italian) to be played or sung in a smooth, even manner ► le gato adv. rrm staccato le gend /'led3and/ noun 1 [C, U] a story from ancient times about people and events, that may or may not be true; this type of story H     tift ^ H771 myth :

the legend of Robin Hood         0 the heroes

of Greek legend     Legend has it that

the lake was formed by the tears of a god.

M ^ & ftflll UK fR f f l ft! o — compare urban myth 2 [C] a very famous person, especially in a particular field, who is admired by other people ( Ala AMf: ajazz/tennis, etc. legend ff± A, A% <> She was a legend in her own

lifetime. MAM W A$f„ 0 Many of

golfs living legends were playing.

3 [C] {technical A to) the explanation of a map or a diagram in a book (      )

HI Ml,          ® , t? M H771 key 4 [C] {formal) a piece of

writing on a sign, a label, a coin, etc. (          itiB. 5f

) M&X¥, &x

le gend ary /'led30ndri; NAmE -deri/ adj. 1 very famous and talked about a lot by people, especially in a way that shows admiration If f      ^ A     a

legendary figure X.%      AWu 0 the legendary Orson

Welles         Her patience and tact

are legendary. MMWA-M^B&JIft 7A&M 2 [only before noun] mentioned in stories from ancient times

ndary heroes         ft        — compare

FABLED

le-ger-de-main /'led3adamein; NAmE -d3ard-/ noun [U] (from French) = sleight of hand(1) leger line /'led30 lain; NAmE -d3ar/ noun {music if) a short line added for notes above or below the five lines of a stave   )

leggings /'legirjz/ noun [pi.] 1 trousers/pants for women that fit tightly over the legs, made of cloth that stretches easily         : a pair of leggings -f^AA

MU’Id 2 outer coverings for the legs, worn as protec­tion |pM; M; mm

leggy /'legi/ adj. {informal) (especially of girls and women Ai£A#3A) having long legs      a tall

leggy schoolgirl    .

le gible /'led3abl/ adj. (of written or printed words A®®'J A¥) clear enough to read if lift    ; if® :

legible handwriting if ®  0 The signature was

still legible, fflft ftr«m illegible ► ie-gi-bil-

ity /,led3a'bilati/ noun [U] le gibly /-abli/ adv. le-gion /'li:d3an/ noun, adj.

m noun 1 a large group of soldiers that forms part of an army, especially the one that existed in ancient Rome (       ) A-H: the French Foreign Legion ftd

HU A® o Caesar’s legions gJUtTA® 2 {formal) a large number of people of one particular type AM, A ftfc ( f£l£Sl#jA ) : legions of photographers uadj. [not before noun] {formal) very many fli ^

H7T1 numerous : The medical uses of herbs are legion.

le-gion-ary /'li:d3anari; NAmE -neri/ noun {pi. -ies) a soldier who is part of a legion % A A ► le-gion-ary adj. [only before noun]

le-gion-naire /.Ii:d3a'nea(r); NAmE -'ner/ noun a member of a legion, especially the French Foreign Legion^®AM; ( A]ffta¥IAftlft ) Hff¥®ft;M .legion'naires’ disease noun [u] a serious lung disease caused by bacteria, especially spread by air conditioning and similar systems

le gis late /'Ied3isleit/ verb [V] ~ (for/against/on sth)

(formal) to make a law affecting sth ftj A^; Xife: ' The government will legislate against discrimination in the workplace.      o

(figurative) You can’t legislate against bad luck!

<> They promised to legislate to protect people’s right to privacy. iMl        AA

le-gis-la-tion /,led3is'leiXn/ noun [u] 1 a law or a set of laws passed by a parliament   an important

piece of legislation     <0 New legislation on

the sale of drugs will be introduced next year.

a c 2 the process of making and passing laws Aft; fiJiTft#: Legislation will be difficult and will take time. AftiS^AAl|0|O le-gis-la-tive /'Ied3isl9tiv; NAmE -leitiv/ adj. [only before noun] {formal) connected with the act of making and passing laws Aftlft; rlfj^ft#:^: a legislative assembly/body/council AftiAA / ^il^l / A 0 legis­lative powers Aft$.

le gis la tor /'led3isleita(r)/ noun (formal) a member of a group of people that has the power to make laws Aft

le-gis-la-ture /,led3isleitj'0(r)/ noun (formal) a group of people who have the power to make and change laws A ft #1A: a. democratically elected legislature g; ± jgfc # AA-IHjAftfllA o the national/state legislature Hi AftMt^ — compare executive n.(3), judiciary legit /h'd3it/ adj. (informal) legal, or acting according to the law or the rules 'g-fttfj; Aft^J; Scft^ ( AftM ) fr^: The business seems legit. ft^J0<

le-git-im-ate /Ii'd3itim0t/ adj. 1 for which there is a fair and acceptable reason IE A A'JIW; «• 'If n- S          K771

valid, justifiable: a legitimate grievance ^^'If ■ ffi ^ 0 It seemed a perfectly legitimate question. jA fU A AA A 'If S I n] M o 0 Politicians are legitimate targets for satire.