Legitimate
Pronunciation
Origin 1
From Medieval Latin legitimatus, past participle of legitimo ("make legal").
Originally "lawfully begotten," from Middle French legitimer and directly from Medieval Latin legitimatus, past participle of legitimo ("I make lawful, declare to be lawful"), from Latin legitimus ("lawful"), originally "fixed by law, in line with the law," from lex ("law")
Full definition of legitimate
Adjective
legitimate
- In accordance with the law or established legal forms and requirements; lawful.
- Conforming to known principles, or established or accepted rules or standards; valid.legitimate reasoning; a legitimate standard or method
- unknown date MacaulayTillotson still keeps his place as a legitimate English classic.
- Authentic, real, genuine.legitimate poems of Chaucer; legitimate inscriptions
- (lawfully begotten)Lawfully begotten, i.e., born to a legally married couple. from mid-14th century
- Relating to hereditary rights.
Antonyms
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ləˈdʒɪtɪmeɪt/
Origin 2
Legal Latin, from Medieval Latin legitimatus, past participle of legitimo. See above for antecedents
Verb
- To make legitimate, lawful, or valid; especially, to put in the position or state of a legitimate person before the law, by legal means. from 1590
Usage notes
Forms of legitimize are about twice as common as forms of the verb legitimate in the US.
Forms of legitimate are somewhat more common than the forms of the verbs legitimize and legitimise in the UK combined.