illegality
UK[ˌɪlɪˈɡæləti]US[ˌɪlɪˈɡæləti]
n
the state or condition of being illegal; unlawfulness.
Morpheme Breakdown
il
legal
ity
il
not
legal
law
ity
state/quality
Etymology
the word illegality is a modern english formation built directly upon the adjective "illegal". it combines the latin-derived negative prefix "il-", the root "legal" from 'legalis' (pertaining to law), and the abstract noun suffix "-ity" from latin '-itas'. the core logic is transparent: "il-" negates the concept of "legal", and "-ity" turns that negative quality into an abstract noun. thus, the literal construction "not-law-ness" evolved to precisely denote the state or condition of being against the law. this tripartite structure exemplifies how english efficiently creates precise abstract terms from classical components.
Analysis
Structure: il (not) + legal (law) + ity (state/quality)
il: a latin prefix meaning "not", a variant of 'in-' used before 'l'.
legal: from latin 'legalis', meaning "of or pertaining to the law". its root is 'lex' (law).
ity: a noun-forming suffix from latin '-itas', indicating a state, condition, or quality.
Examples
the defense lawyer challenged the illegality of the evidence collection.
they were unaware of the illegality of their actions in that jurisdiction.
the court's ruling focused on the procedural illegality, not the moral implications.