ˈlȯfəl adjective
Etymology: Middle English laweful, from lawe law + -ful
1.
a. : conformable to law : allowed or permitted by law : enforceable in a court of law : legitimate
b. : constituted, authorized, or established by law : rightful
the lawful owner
a lawful day to hold court
2. : law-abiding
made his appeal to all lawful citizens against the criminals
Synonyms:
lawful , legal , legitimate , and licit can mean, in common, sanctioned by law. lawful implies law of any kind and often comes close to permissible
a lawful king
a lawful husband
found that there is nothing fortuitous about color mixtures but, on the contrary, that they are entirely regular and lawful in operation — F.A.Geldard
the behavior of organisms is plainly lawful, the business of science is still to determine how they arrive — H.J.Muller
that was the only sense in which ambition was lawful for a Christian: ambition for the work and not for self — Bruce Marshall
the time has come when, if ever, it is lawful for me to doubt as it is imperative for you to affirm — O.W.Holmes †1935
legal usually implies the law of the statute books or the courts, often applying more to what is not contrary to that law than to what is allowable by the terms of it
a legal resident of the state
legal ownership of property
legal control of crime
legal dishonesty in business
legitimate now implies not only recognition by law but acceptance by custom, tradition, the rules of inference, a sense of fitness or rightness, or standards of authenticity
the difference between crooked dealing and legitimate profiting
in the light of the parallels which I have adduced the hypothesis appears legitimate, if not probable — J.G.Frazer
a short novel of what might be called legitimate adventure — E.L.Acken
both toy and legitimate wooden shoes are manufactured — Loyal Durand
legitimate to claim that much of our truly wonderful prodigality of talent is due to the work of gifted teachers — J.A.Michener
this legitimate contrast to be made between China and western Europe — E.R.Hughes
the problem of selling books is met through the industry's most legitimate channels, namely the bookstores — A.A.Van Duym
licit usually implies strict conformity to law in the way something (especially what is specifically regulated by law) is performed, executed, or carried on
the state is given its right to determine what is licit and illicit for property owners in the use of their possessions — Commonweal
extremely difficult to disentangle truth from falsehood, and far more reliance must be placed on personal and private sources of information than would be licit if these barriers did not exist — E.S.Skillin
the biggest dealer in ivory, both licit and illicit, in the town — Stuart Cloete
a wife's licit love