† unleefullyadv.
Obsolete.
Unlawfully; illegally, illicitly; improperly.
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society > law > rule of law > illegality > [adverb]
unlawlyc1175
unlawfullya1350
unleefullya1382
wrongfully1439
unlawful1477
unleesomely1528
illegally1628
illegitimatelya1634
unlegally1638
illicitly1812
viciously1880
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Psalms lxxiii. 10 Hou longe, God, the enemye shal repreue? the aduersarie vnlefulli taketh thi name in to the ende [L. blasphemabit inimicus nomen tuum in finem].
1387–8 Petition London Mercers in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 37 Any..wronge suggestion by which owre lige lorde hath ybe vnleeffullich enfourmed.
c1425 Bk. Found. St. Bartholomew's (1923) 48 (MED) A Preiste, Wymunde by name..byȝonde equyte ȝeuen to voluptuous lyif and his incontinence..Purchasid hym a lemman and of her vnlefully begait a doughtir.
c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 110 Al bi power of bischopis name þat þei chalang unlefuly to hem wiþ out þe kirk.
c1480 (a1400) St. Matthew 384 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 201 How dar þu þane..fra þi lorde tak hyre to þe, vnlefully to wedyte be?
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 271 He suld nocht..vnlefully trete him.
a1500 tr. R. Rolle Mending of Life (Worcester) 36 (MED) In deede, he synneth many wises: livyng lecherously, vnliefully handlyng or touchyng thurgh kissyng voluntarily.
1565 J. Stow Summarie Eng. Chrons. f. 23 A duke of Rome was sente to subdue Carassus, whiche unlefullye vsurped the crowne of Britayne.
1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 169 All soche that wrongfully and vnlefully occupieth or witholdeth oder mennys goods.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adv.a1382