leggi

Leggi is an Italian word with two main senses. As a noun, leggi is the plural of legge and means "laws," referring to statutes enacted by a legislative body. As a verb form, leggi is the second person singular present indicative of leggere, meaning "you read," and it also appears as the imperative "leggi!" meaning "read!"

In legal usage, leggi denote the statutes that constitute the primary source of binding rules in a country. In Italy, this includes ordinary laws (leggi ordinarie), constitutional provisions, and various special laws; regulations and decrees may implement or interpret laws. The creation of laws typically involves proposal, debate, approval by Parliament, and publication in the Official Journal. Regional legislatures may also enact regional or local laws. The legal system distinguishes between different instruments, such as laws, decrees with the force of law (decreti legge), and delegated or implementing regulations (regolamenti).

Etymology and scope: leggi derives from the Latin lex, legis, through the Italian legge (singular) and its plural leggi. The verb form leggi arises independently as the present tense of leggere (to read)—tu leggi, meaning you read—highlighting a common homograph in Italian that is disambiguated by context.

Usage and translation: in English, leggi commonly translates to "laws" when referring to statutory rules in a jurisdiction, or to "read" when used as a verb. The plural leggi covers the body of statutory rules in a given state, while legge (singular) refers to a single law.