lawfully

C2+ Topic:Law & Government

US /ˈlɔfəli/ UK /ˈlɔːfəli/ See IPA manual

adv

Meanings

1

adv
in a manner permitted or recognized by law

The property was lawfully transferred to the new owner.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · in a manner permitted or... legally legitimatelylicitlyrightfully justly

Opposites

unlawfully illegally illicitly

Word family

Related forms lawful law lawfulness

Etymology

From lawful (law + -ful) + the adverbial suffix -ly. Law descends from Old English lagu, borrowed from Old Norse lag ('something laid down, fixed').

lagu Old English lag Old Norse

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Law & Government Word Formation & Derivatives

# lawfully

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv
**IPA (US):** ˈlɔfəli
**IPA (UK):** ˈlɔːfəli

## Meanings
1. in a manner permitted or recognized by law

## Examples
- The property was lawfully transferred to the new owner.

## Synonyms
- legally
- legitimately
- licitly
- rightfully
- justly

## Antonyms
- unlawfully
- illegally
- illicitly

## Related Forms
- lawful
- law
- lawfulness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: lagu
- Root: lag

## Etymology
From lawful (law + -ful) + the adverbial suffix -ly. Law descends from Old English lagu, borrowed from Old Norse lag ('something laid down, fixed').

## AI Etymology
Lawfully comes from lawful (law + -ful) + the adverbial suffix -ly. Law descends from Old English lagu, borrowed from Old Norse lag ('something laid down, fixed'). The etymological trail includes Old English lagu and Old Norse lag. As an adverb, lawfully means in a manner permitted or recognized by law. The same family is visible in related forms such as lawful, law, and lawfulness. Morphologically, the word is built from the elements named in its history, so the modern form preserves a visible compound, prefix, or suffix structure.

## Topics
- Law & Government
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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lawfully

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