Legalized

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The formal approval process that transforms a previously prohibited practice into one that is permitted under the law
2. The procedure by which an activity is sanctioned and regulated by legal authorities instead of being outlawed
3. Made lawful through government or authoritative approval, allowing actions once forbidden to be conducted legally

Etymology: "Legalized" is the past tense and past participle of "legalize," so it shares its history. "Legalize" was formed in English in the 1800s from "legal" plus the suffix "-ize," which turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning "to make or cause to be." "Legal" itself came into English in the early 1500s from Medieval Latin "legalis," built from Latin "lex" (law), a root that also gave us "legislate" and "legitimate." The "-ize" ending has an older Greek pedigree. It descends from the Greek suffix "-izein," which English borrowed through Latin "-izare" and then, in many words, through French "-iser." English speakers used it freely from the 1600s onward to coin verbs such as "modernize" and "civilize," so "legalize" follows a well-worn pattern rather than a single coinage.

Synonyms: permitted, authorized, validated, sanctioned, licensed

Antonyms: illegal, prohibited, banned, forbidden, restricted