legalistic
/lˌɛɡəlˈɪstɪk/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.37 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of a person, following the letter of the law.
adj
Practicing or characterized by legalism.
Example Sentences
- "He's very legalistic, so let's hope the law is just and merciful as well as strict."
- "His legalistic tendencies irritated his neighbors, especially since they had to defend themselves against his frivolous suits."
- "She was legalistic in her observation of religious rules and traditions."
- "the European Union is legalistic, bureaucratic and runs by precedent."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *lḗǵs? Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *lḗgʰs? Proto-Italic *lēks Latin lex Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin lēgālislbor. English legal Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Hellenic *-tās Ancient Greek -τής (-tḗs) Ancient Greek -ῐστής (-ĭstḗs)bor. Latin -istader. Old French -istebor. Middle English -ist English -ist Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ik English -ic English -istic English legalistic From legal + -istic.
Inflected Forms
more legalistic (comparative)
most legalistic (superlative)