The Collaborative International Dictionary
Lawful \Law"ful\, a.
Conformable to law; allowed by law; legitimate; competent.
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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. Also called legal age or age of majority.
Note: In some of the States, and for some purposes, a woman attains lawful age at eighteen.
--Abbott.Syn: Legal; constitutional; allowable; regular; rightful.
Usage: 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.
Usage examples of "lawful age".
All the same, Harruel doubted that Lakkamai would be content to go the rest of his life without coupling, and there was no one here for him to couple with except other men's mates and the infant Tramassilu, who would not reach the lawful age of coupling for many years.