Legalising

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of formally approving an activity through laws can signify a significant shift in societal norms
2. It encompasses the process of altering legal frameworks to validate actions that were once considered illegal or restricted
3. The process of enacting laws that authorize previously unlawful practices reflects a broader change in societal attitudes towards those activities

Etymology: "Legalising" is the present participle and gerund of "legalise", a verb built from the adjective "legal" with the suffix "-ise", which turns an adjective into a verb meaning "to make or render something". So the verb literally means to make something legal. The suffix is an ordinary one, borrowed through French from Greek "-izein", and it is the same ending found in words such as "modernise" and "realise". The verb's sibling, "loyalise", is a doublet, meaning the two words share a common origin but reached English by different routes, here from "loyal" and "legal" respectively. Both words follow the same pattern of adjective plus "-ise", and the pairing shows how closely the two adjectives' forms and suffixes have been mirrored over time.

Synonyms: legalizing, sanctioning, authorizing, permitting, certifying

Antonyms: prohibiting, banning, forbidding, restricting, outlawing