Wordwyrt

paralegal

/ˌpeɹəˈliɡəl/peh-ruh-LEE-guhl
/ˌpɛɹəˈliɡəl/peh-ruh-LEE-guhl

Meaningbeside the law

Common meaning: a trained assistant to lawyers

‘beside’ + ‘to gather, pick out’ → paralegal

Journey through time

  1. Latinlegō, lēgī, lēctum‘to gather, pick out’
  2. Frenchlegal
  3. Englishparalegal‘a trained assistant to lawyers’ · today

para- also in: parableparadoxparasolparasiteparagraph

leg also in: selectselectorselectionselective

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin legō ‘to gather, pick out; to read’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry legō, p. 1048 · dictionary scan

Roots

Related words

selectselectionselectiveselector

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