I'm not sure how you can say that when the very term "
illegal" refers to the breaking of the law.
Notice all of the reference to "
law" when talking about legality.
Then notice that the definition of "crime" is "lawbreaking".
Definition of legal
1
: of or relating to
law She has many legal problems.
2a
: deriving authority from or founded on
law : de jure a legal government
b
: having a formal status derived from
law often without a basis in actual fact
: titular a corporation is a legal but not a real person
c
: established by
law especially
: statutory the legal test of mental capacity — K. C. Masteller
3
: conforming to or permitted by
law or established rules The referee said it was a legal play. Fishing in this lake is legal.
4
: recognized or made effective by a court of
law as distinguished from a court of equity
5
: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of the profession of
law or of one of its members a bottle … that some legal friend had sent him— J. G. Cozzens
6
: created by the constructions of the
law A legal fiction is something assumed in
law to be a fact regardless of the truth of that assumption.
legal
noun
Definition of
legal
: one that conforms to rules or the
law
Synonyms for crime
criminality, lawbreaking, lawlessness