lawful

/ˈlɔfəl/

/ˈlɔwfəl/

When something's legal, or the rules allow it, you can call it lawful. It's lawful to plant a tree in your yard, but it's not lawful to dig up a tree in the city park.

Things that are lawful are allowed or permitted, like driving after you've gotten your driver's license or baking your neighbor a cake. Neither of these things is prohibited by law, so they're lawful. You have a lawful right to build a cabin on land you own, and it's also lawful to put up a fence. The adjective comes from law, which has an Old English root, lagu, "ordinance, rule, regulation, or a district governed by them."

Definitions of lawful

1. adjective

   conformable to or allowed by law
   “lawful methods of dissent”

   synonyms:

   law-abiding, observant

   (of individuals) adhering strictly to laws and rules and customs

   legal

   established by or founded upon law or official or accepted rules

   square, straight

   characterized by honesty and fairness

   antonyms:

   unlawful

   contrary to or prohibited by or defiant of law

   lawless, outlaw

   disobedient to or defiant of law

   lawless, wide-open

   lax in enforcing laws

   wrongful

   unlawfully violating the rights of others

   illegal

   prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules

   corrupt, crooked

   not straight; dishonest or immoral or evasive
2. adjective

   authorized, sanctioned by, or in accordance with law
   synonyms: legitimate, licit

   legal

   established by or founded upon law or official or accepted rules
3. adjective

   having a legally established claim
   “the true and lawful king”

   synonyms: rightful, true

   legitimate

   of marriages and offspring; recognized as lawful
4. adjective

   according to custom or rule or natural law
   synonyms: rule-governed

   regular

   in accordance with fixed order or procedure or principle