Law"ful (?), a.
1. Conformable to law; allowed by law; legitimate; competent.
2.
Constituted or authorized by law; rightful; as, the lawful owner of lands.
Lawful
age, the age when the
law recognizes one's right of independent action; majority; -- generally the age of twenty-one years.
&fist; In some
of the States, and for some
purposes, a woman attains lawful age at eighteen. Abbott.
Syn. -- Legal; constitutional; allowable; regular; rightful. -- Lawful,
Legal. Lawful
means conformable to the principle, spirit, or essence of the law, and is applicable to moral as well as juridical law. Legal means conformable to the letter or
rules of the law as it is administered in the courts; conformable to juridical law. Legal is often used as antithetical to equitable, but lawful is seldom used in that sense.
-- Law"ful*ly, adv.
-- Law"ful*ness, n.
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