Right.... Let's do this!
Personally, as an ESL teacher of many years, and with relevant qualifications (Applied Linguistics), I feel I can weigh in here as a bit of an 'expert' (but, mind you, only a bit :p)
As I've done before, I use this site - etymonline.com
And, OMFGs, yes I do actually trust the information on there, and it's not part of the whole "we want to take over the world, and so we're going to manipulate all of it to suit our agenda".
And, thus...
https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=legal
Directly from the Latin - 'legalis'
legal (adj.)
mid-15c. "of or pertaining to the law," from Old French légal "legal" (14c.) or directly from Latin legalis "pertaining to the law," from lex (genitive legis) "an enactment; a precept, regulation, principle, rule; formal proposition for a law, motion, bill; a contract, arrangement, contrivance." This probably is related to legere "to gather," from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather," with derivatives meaning "to speak (to 'pick out words')." Perhaps the noun is from the verb on the notion of "a collection of rules," but de Vaan seems to imply that the evolution is the reverse:
The verb legare and its compounds all have a meaning which involves a 'task, assignment,' and can therefore be interpreted as derivatives of lex 'law.' The [Proto-Italic] root noun *leg- 'law' can be interpreted as a 'collection' of rules. Whether the root noun existed already in PIE is uncertain for lack of precise cognates.
Sense of "permitted by law" is from 1640s. Related: Legally. Not etymologically related to law (n.), q.v. The usual Old French form was leial, loial (see leal, loyal). Legal tender "money which the creditor is bound by law to accept" is from 1740 (see tender (n.2)). A legal holiday (1867) is one established by statute or proclamation and during which government business is usually suspended.
also from mid-15c.
The word 'law', however, isn't actually from the Latin, but from Old Norse (that being a few centuries after Latin was around, and about a millennia after Latin even became a thing).
https://www.etymonline.com/word/law#etymonline_v_6600
law (n.)
Old English lagu (plural laga, combining form lah-) "ordinance, rule prescribed by authority, regulation; district governed by the same laws;" also sometimes "right, legal privilege," from Old Norse *lagu "law," collective plural of lag "layer, measure, stroke," literally "something laid down, that which is fixed or set."
This is reconstructed to be from Proto-Germanic *lagam "put, lay" (from PIE root *legh- "to lie down, lay"). The modern word is thus a twin of lay (n.2) as "that which is set or established."
Rare in Old English, it ousted the more usual ae and also gesetnes, which also were etymologically "something placed or set."
"Indo-European words for "a law" are most commonly from verbs for "to put, place, set, lay," such as Greek thesmos (from tithemi "to put, place"), Old English dom (from PIE *dhe- "to put, place, set"), Lithuanian įstatymas (from statyti "cause to stand, set up, establish"), Polish ustawa (from stać "stand"). Also compare Old English gesetnes (above), statute, from Latin statuere; German Gesetz "a law, statute," from Old High German gisatzida "a fixing, determination, assessment," with sezzen (modern German setzen) "to make sit, set, put."
Words for "law" in the general sense mostly mean etymologically "what is right" and often are connected with adjectives for "right" (themselves often figurative uses of words for "straight," "upright," "true," "fitting," or "usage, custom." Such are Greek nomos (as in numismatic); French droit, Spanish derecho, from Latin directus; Polish prawo, Russian pravo (from Old Church Slavonic pravŭ "straight," in the daughter languages "right"); also Old Norse rettr, Old English riht, Dutch recht, German Recht (see right (adj.1))."
Additionally, the differences between 'legal' and 'lawful' have already been quite well defined and disambiguated, thank you.
"You can think of « Legal » as pertaining more to Corporate-Fictions and « Lawful » pertaining more to the organic;"
No, not really...
https://grammarhow.com/lawful-vs-legal/
"What Is The Difference Between “Lawful” And “Legal”?
The difference between something “Lawful” and something “Legal” is that something lawful follows the substance of the law, while something legal follows the form of the law. Something can be illegal in its form and not be unlawful in its substance."
"This is because something can be illegal in the letter of the law, but not go against the spirit of the law, and therefore not be unlawful."
Both refer back to the same thing - the codes of laws that exist in the area that you are in.
"Ultimately, Legal = Avatar, Lawful = Your Actual Organic Meat-Sack (although, technically, our Meat-Sacks are actually our current Avatars to our Is-Being Essences)."
"when a group of high-school-students fill out their character-sheets, creating the characters they are to control, the high-school students themselves would be equivalent to those who « Lawfully » exist; the characters that they invent, who play the role of warriors, wizards, mages, priests, clerics, etc., are equivalent to what « Legally » exists. See this re-enactment..."
This is so just NOT a good analogy, and *COMPLETELY* wrong.
(BTW, don't diss the TRRPG players!!! Although, yes, I do agree that D&D is a crap RPG, and there are many better ones out there).
" playing a stupid paper role playing game"
I hope you're only referring to D&D there, and not all TTRPGs!
