legalese

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *leǵ-der.? Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-der.? Proto-Italic *lēks Latin lex Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin lēgālislbor. English legal Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-iskbor. Late Latin -iscus ▲ Vulgar Latin -iscus Latin -ēnsis Old French -eisbor. Middle English -eys English -ese English legalese From legal + -ese.

1. Technical jargon common in the legal profession; the argot of lawyers.

   “It is also his considered opinion that a condition precedent to any legislative action is that those best qualified to pronounce on the merits of a popular demand examine it in all its aspects. That is good Menzian legalese, as pompous as parody permits.”

2. Wordy, ostentatious talk or writing that resembles legal writing, especially when confusing to laypeople; bureaucratese; officialese.