illegaalne

Illegaalne is an Estonian adjective meaning not permitted by law or in contravention of legal rules; in English, it corresponds to illegal. It is used to describe actions, objects, or activities that violate statutes or regulations. Common collocations include illegaalne tegevus (illegal activity), illegaalne import (illegal import), and illegaalne varustus (illegally sourced equipment). The adverbial form is illegaalselt.

Etymology and form: The word is a late borrow in Estonian, cognate with forms in many European languages such as English illegal, German illegal, and French illégal. These cognates derive from Latin illegalis. In Estonian, illegaalne takes the standard -ne adjective suffix and forms related nouns and adverbs by regular processes, for example illegaalselt.

Usage and nuance: In formal legal texts, ebaseaduslik is often used to emphasize illegality in a neutral or statutory sense, while illegaalne is common in everyday speech and media. The term is widely applied to activities, goods, or statuses that violate law. When applied to people, illegaalne can carry stigma, and some contexts prefer more neutral terms such as ebaseaduslik or descriptions focused on the specific legal status rather than the person.

See also: ebaseaduslik; illegality; illegal immigration (often translated as illegaalne migratsioon or ebakindlate contexts vary by style).